Warwickshire, the land of Shakespeare

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WARWICK CASTLK FROM THK BRIIH1K.

WARWICK-
SHIRE

THE LAND OF
SHAKESPEARE

PAINTED BY

FRED WHITEHEAD

DESCRIBED BY

CLIVE HOLLAND

A&C BLACK E

4.5.6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON. W.1

First Edition, with 75 Illustrations, published in 1906

Reprinted in 1912
Second Edition, revised, with 32 Illustrations, published in 1922

Printed in Great Britain fy R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh.

670

Preface to Revised Edition

To those who know Warwickshire well it will be
unnecessary to either sing its praises, as not only one
of the most historic but also one of the most fascinating
of middle-England shires, or to urge its claims for
the consideration of those who love the fair, open
country, winding roads, and pleasant hills and vales.
This county, of whose beauty poets from almost time
immemorial have sung, possesses an added interest
beyond the romantic elements afforded by its history,
its magnificent survivals of bygone ages in castles,
manor-houses, churches, and other domestic buildings,
in that it is the land of Shakespeare. Around this
beautiful district of England still hangs some of the
unfading glamour which comes from the association
with it of great deeds and great names ; from amongst
the latter of which that of " the nation's poet " stands
out with undimmed lustre as the centuries pass away.

The wealth of material which confronts both the
writer and the artist who seeks to depict with pen and
brush some of the most salient features of the county
is so embarrassing that selection becomes a task of

vii

Warwickshire

extreme difficulty. What to leave out presents itself
as a most pressing problem, not easily solved ; for,
alas ! space is not elastic ; and even when the question
is in a measure disposed of, it is still pregnant with
regrets for the many beautiful things, historic places,
scenes, and incidents which have had to be omitted for
lack of space. To those who know the county only as
one of England's central shires, perhaps the book may
give sufficient pleasure to induce them to visit the
places described.

C. H.

BALING, W.5.
June i<)22.

VI 11

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

1. WARWICKSHIRE AND ITS HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST

TlMES TO THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY I

II. WARWICKSHIRE AND ITS HISTORY FROM THE FIFTEENTH

CENTURY TO MODERN TIMES .... 24

lit. FAYRE WARWICK TOWN: ITS HISTORY AND ROMANCE 43
IV. THE STORY OF WARWICK CASTLE .... 70

V. COVENTRY : ITS HISTORY, ROMANCE, CHURCHES, AND

ANCIENT BUILDINGS ...... 89

VI. KENILWORTH AND ITS PRIORY — THE STORY AND ROMANCE

OF KENILWORTH CASTLE . . . . .125

VII. LEAMINGTON . . . . . . . .144.

VIII. THE STORY OF BIRMINGHAM . . . . .154

IX. THE STORY OF SOME ANCIENT MANOR-HOUSES —
BADDESLEY CLINTON — PACKINGTON OLD HALL —
MAXSTOKE CASTLE — ASTLEY CASTLE . . .174

X. THE STORY AND ROMANCE OF SOME SOUTH WARWICK-
SHIRE MANOR-HOUSES . . . . .189

XI. SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE AND SHAKESPEARE'S TOWN . . 202
XII. A GROUP OF SHAKESPEARE'S VILLAGES . . . 240

INDEX 256

ix

List of Illustrations

I. Warwick Castle from the Bridge .... Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

2. Henley-in-Arden ....... 4

3. Salford Priors 9

4. Coughton Court . . . . . . ' 1 6

5. Dunchurch ........ 25

6. Southam ......... 32

7. Warwick Castle . . . . . . . 41

8. Leicester's Hospital, Warwick 48

9. Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick . . . . . 57

10. Guy's Cliffe Mill 64

11. Peeping Torn, Coventry . . . . . . 73

12. Palace Yard, Coventry ...... 80

13. Ufton 89

14. Kenilworth Castle ....... 96

15. Stoneleigh Abbey 105

16. The Parade, Leamington . . . . . .112

17. St. Martin's Church, Birmingham . . . . 121

1 8. Baddesley Clinton Hall 128

19. Maxstoke Castle 137

List of Illustrations

FACING PAGE

20. Compton Wynyates . . . . . . .144

21. Burton Dassett Church ...... 153

22. Little Wolford Manor-House . . . . .160

23. Long Compton . . . . . . . .169

24. Ann Hathaway's Cottage . . . . . .176

25. Shakespeare's Birthplace 185

26. Stratford-on-Avon. The Grammar School . . . 192

27. Stratford-on-Avon . . . . . . .201

28. "Hungry" Grafton 208

29. Abbots Salford . . . . . . . .217

30. Bidford Bridge ........ 224

31. Charlecote 233

32. Rugby School 240

Sketch Mapjadngp. \

SKETCH MAP OF WARWICKSHIRH.

WARWICKSHIRE

CHAPTER I

WARWICKSHIRE AND ITS HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST
TIMES TO THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY

WARWICKSHIRE has rightly been termed "leafy War-
wickshire," for although deficient in scenery cast in
a large mould, which may be described as grand or
magnificent, it is undoubtedly one of the most lovely
of English counties. Though lacking the peaks
and deep -set dales of its near neighbour, Derbyshire,
which it touches at its northern limit, it is essentially
a county of pleasant hills, uplands, and fertile well-
watered vales. Some of the richest meadow-land and
most picturesque woodland scenery in the Midlands
lie within the confine of Shakespeare's shire.

Few English counties present greater attractions for
the student of the past, the archaeologist, the rambler,
and the tourist than Warwickshire. Through it
gently-flowing rivers, unagitated by sudden drops from
highland sources, pass on their placid ways by rich
pasture-land and fields of waving corn, or wind in
tortuous convolutions through widespread parks, and
past historic castles and mansions rich in traditions of

Warwickshire

the stirring times when the shire played its part in the
affairs of national history.

Warwickshire, although possessing few ranges of
considerable hills, and no very high eminences, the
chief ranges being on its north, eastern and south-
eastern borders, has just that type of scenery which was
so delightfully described by Mrs. Browning in " Aurora
Leigh":— '

The ground's most gentle diraplement
(as if God's finger touched, but did not press,
In making England !), such an up and down
Of verdure — nothing too much up or down ;
A ripple of land ; such little hills, the sky
Can stoop to tenderly and the wheat fields climb ;
Such nooks and valleys, lined with orchises,
Fed full of noises by invisible streams ;
And open pastures, where you scarcely tell
White daisies from white dew ; at intervals
The mythic oaks and elm trees standing out
Self-poised upon their prodigy of shade —
I thought my father's land was worthy too
Of being my Shakespeare's.

Few better descriptions of the charms of this
delightful county have ever been written, although
many poets have sung them. An Elizabethan singer,
Michael Drayton, said of his native shire, "We the
heart of England well may call."

It was well, indeed, for English literature that such
an one as the Bard of Avon should have been born and
have lived in this land of pleasant pastures, leafy wood-
lands, and placid and beautiful streams, and should
have treasured early memories of vagrant days amid

2

Early History

her sylvan solitudes and river banks with which to gem
his after work with sweet imageries of rural beauties,
of flowers, and the songs of birds.

Shakespeare loved his native town, and he put into
almost all of his plays some glimpses or description of
the natural and unfailing beauties of Stratford and its
immediate surroundings. And still, in the meadows
in which long ago he loved to muse and wander,
are found those " daisies pied," " pansies that are for
thoughts," the " blue -veined violets," and "ladies'
smocks all silver white," of which Shakespeare's
maidens often sing. And there are also the willow-
hung brooks, and the orchards in spring beauteous in
white and pink blossom, and in autumn rich with sun-
kissed fruit.

In few parts of rural England are richer and more
beautiful meadows to be found than round Stratford.
These, through which the placid-moving Avon flows,
are in spring and early summer gay with the glistening
gold of kingcups and humbler buttercups, and fragrant
with meadowsweet. And a little later on the meadow
grass is shot and diapered with mauve orchises, tall
horse daisies, yellow rattlegrass, blue and white milk-
wort, and frail bluebells. In the woodlands, which
engirdle Stratford a little way beyond the town, there is
in spring a rich carpet of the mingled yellow of prim-
roses and vivid ultramarine of wild hyacinths, and a
blended odour of awakening earth and flowers. Few
counties have been better sung by poets of the past
and present than Warwickshire. And much verse

3

Warwickshire

which has never been traced to Warwickshire writers
doubtless owes its origin to a district which, " beautiful
as some dreamland of flowers and fruits, and kingdom
of elfish people," is taken to the heart of all who
sojourn within its borders, be it only for a brief period.

Beautiful, however, as the county is, it has interests
quite as fascinating for the historian, student, and archaeo-
logist as for the wayfarer and artist. There is, indeed,
no lack of historical associations and of famous houses,
connected with which are many of the traditions and
gallant deeds of past ages, which give an added interest
to much that is beautiful in itself.

The history of Warwickshire contains much which is
also that of England. Its life throughout the varying
ages has been a part of that of the kingdom at large.
Although the traces of the earliest of all inhabitants are
comparatively few, sufficient exist, or have been dis-
covered from time to time, to enable both historical
and archaeological students to construct with some
certainty the life of the district in far remote times.

Of the history of Warwickshire in pre-Roman times
unfortunately little is known. Even the very name of
the county itself is of obscure origin, although it most
probably has a distinct connection with that of the
tribe Hwicci, who, in common with another tribe, the
Cornavii, dwelt in the district, which was a part of the
great central kingdom of Mercia, before the Roman
occupation.

Of the Roman occupation, which lasted nearly 470
years, fortunately many memorials and relics have sur-

4

Early History

vived. Traces of three of those great highways which
exerted so puissant a civilising influence whilst Romans
dwelt in Britain, are still to be seen in the portions of
the Icknield-Way, Watling Street, and the Fosse- Way,
which are to be found in different parts of the county.
Indeed, the second of these has given its name to one
of Birmingham's most important streets. Along a
portion of the county's western border, too, runs the
Ridgeway ; and Alcester, Mancetter, and many other
spots were once Roman stations or Roman encamp-
ments. But although the Roman occupation doubtless
affected Warwickshire with the rest of the kingdom, it
was of a more partial character than in many other
districts, and appears to have been largely confined to
the immediate vicinity of the roads which the invaders
constructed. The character of the country, which was
at that time densely wooded, permitted the inhabitants
to hold it against their conquerors with some success,
attacking when the opportunity served, and then retir-
ing into ambush afforded by the nature of the ground.

Details of the early years of the Roman Con-
quest are fragmentary, and it is not, indeed, till about
A.D. 50 that one finds Ostorius Scapula, who was the
second governor, erecting a string of military posts and
forts on the Severn, indicating at all events the partial
subjugation of the British. Ultimately the district of
which Warwickshire formed a part became incor-
porated in the province known by the name of Flavia
Caesariensis, and latterly was called Britannia Secunda.

Comparatively few architectural traces of the days

5

Warwickshire

of Roman rule have been found, and of these most
have been upon the lines of the two great roads, the
Icknield-Way and Watling Street, and then chiefly in
the immediate vicinity of the camps or " stations."
Very little history, too, relating to this interesting
period has survived the effluxion of time.

The immediate successor of Ostorius appears to
have made terms with the leaders of the Hwicci, grant-
ing to them certain concessions, and some measure of
independence, but these British chiefs later on joined
with the Silures in resisting the Romans, and an era of
greater severity on the part of the latter ensued.

Under Suetonius Paulinus the domination over
this portion of Britain was extended and ultimately
rendered complete. At this period " Arden," which is
the general Celtic name for a forest, was to all intents
Warwickshire. It certainly was the largest of all
British forests, and extended from the Avon as far
northward as the Trent, and probably stretched to the
banks of the Severn on the west. Its eastern boundary
is more uncertain, but there appears considerable reason
for believing that it lay approximately along a line
drawn from the town of Burton -on -Trent to High
Cross, where the Fosse- Way and Watling Street inter-
sect. The early inhabitants of the southern portion of
this thickly-wooded and well-timbered district were
principally if not entirely belonging to the tribe of
herdsmen known as the Hwiccian Ceangi, and this
district of Arden was known as the " Feldon," whilst
the northern portion of the county beyond the Avon

6

Early History

was then known as the Woodland. The first-named
district was of the nature of more open country, with
pasture lands and possessing wide cultivated areas,
although well-wooded in places ; whilst the second
named was thickly timbered and scarcely penetrated to
any extent by the Roman conquerors. In later times,
when England was ultimately divided into shires or
counties, in those of Warwick and Stafford were in-
corporated various portions of the wilder Arden of
those ancient days. The name is, however, now only
preserved in Warwickshire, where it survives in
Hampton-in-Arden and Henley-in-Arden, situated in
the Woodland district.

Partial as the subjection to the Roman yoke of what
is now known as Warwickshire undoubtedly was, con-
siderable remains of the occupation have from time
to time been discovered in the shape of coins, imple-
ments, pottery, and other antiquities at Warwick,
Alcester, Lapworth, Hampton-in-Arden, Milverton,
Birmingham, and other places.

The departure of the Romans affected Warwick-
shire less than some other portions of the country at
first. But there is little doubt that the usual policy
of the conquerors of drafting the bravest, best, and
youngest men into their own legions for service abroad
left " the heart of England " as badly prepared to resist
the invasion of other tribes as was the rest of the
country. Depleted of many of its bravest warriors,
England was, after several centuries of reliance upon
an alien power for defence, when the Roman con-

7

Warwickshire

querors departed left at the mercy of any who chose
to attack. Not only were all the legions required at
home to resist the Saxon invasion under Alaric, who
poured his hosts of barbarians over the wide- spread
Roman Empire, but the British youth who had been
drafted abroad returned not, and thus, as Gildas says,
Britain, despoiled of her soldiers, arms, and youth, who
had followed Maximus to return no more to their
native shores, and being ignorant of the art of war,
groaned for many years under the constant incursions
and ruthlessness of the Picts and Scots.

For some considerable period after the departure of
the Romans few historical records relating to Warwick-
shire exist. And if, as George Eliot wrote in The Mill
on the Flossy "the happiest nations have no history,"
then the county which gave her and the "Bard of
Avon " birth must have been a pleasant spot for a
long period. There is probably a reasonable explana-
tion of this circumstance when its position is con-
sidered. Situated in the centre of England, and far
removed from the seaboard, it naturally escaped
much of the storm and stress of invasion ajtid attack
from which less happily placed districts in those wild,
early periods of national history so constantly suffered.
Except for a record that one Credda, a Saxon com-
mander of note, successfully penetrated into the wooded
solitudes of Warwickshire, there are few data obtainable
for the construction of an historic sketch of this region
until the time of the Saxon Heptarchy. Then it
became a part and parcel of the wide-spread kingdom

8

The Danish Invaders

of Mercia, and not only enjoyed a share of its rule and
barbaric pomp and circumstance, but also played a
not inconsiderable part in the wars and feuds of the
various Mercian rulers.

The capital of several of these monarchs was Tarn-
worth ; which anciently enjoyed the distinction of
standing in both Staffordshire and Warwick, concern-
ing which the Saxon Chronicle of 9 1 3 records, " This
year, by the help of God, ^Ethelflaed, lady of the
Mercians, went with all the Mercians to Tamworth,
and there builded a burgh early in the summer." In
those times Kingsbury, on the Tame, was also a place
of importance as a royal residence, and, according to
Dugdale, the farmhouse, formerly the Hall, stands on
the spot where stood the palace of the Mercian kings.
Tamworth was destined to play its part in one of those
fierce and lurid conflicts between the Saxons and the
Danish invaders which took place after the town had
been burned by the latter. Near by, too, in A.D. 757,
another battle took place between Ethelbald, the tenth
king of Mercia, and Cuthred, King of the West Saxons,
when the former was slain by one of his own followers.
At Seckington, about five miles to the north-east of
Tamworth, is a tumulus, which not only marks the site
of the battle, but also the burial-place of those who
fell.

In the latter half of the eighth century Offa, who
ultimately became the greatest ruler of the West of those
times, raised the kingdom of Mercia to a height of
greatness and prosperity that it had never before

9 2

Warwickshire

enjoyed, — an importance which it continued to hold
for a period under the rule of his son Cenwulf. War-
wickshire, as a part of Mercia, must naturally have
benefited by its greatness and progress, but during the
reign of Cenwulf the seeds of a far-reaching revolution
were being sown, the fruits of which were the uniting
of the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia by Ecgberht or
Egbert, King of the West Saxons, who has been some-
times incorrectly described as the first king of England.

The incursions of the Danish invaders, which had
been of frequent occurrence prior to the reign of Egbert,
assumed a much more formidable aspect almost ere the
King had succeeded in welding together the separate
kingdoms under one head. Their first unwelcome
visitations had begun in 787, some thirteen years before
Egbert's accession.

In 868 they once again invaded and seriously ravaged
Mercia. Two years later they conquered East Anglia.
A year later their triumphant progress extended into
Wessex, where they at first achieved some successes,
although that kingdom was ruled by a wise and heroic
ruler in the person of .flithelred, the brother of Alfred
the Great, who succeeded him. In the following year,
871, no less than nine pitched battles were fought
between the Danes and the Saxons.

It is supposed that Mercia about this time was only
a portion of the kingdom of Burhred, the last native
king of central England, who had succeeded Ceolwulf.
This in 874 had been divided by the victorious
Danes, and committed as a tributary state to Ceolwulf.

10

Mercia and the Danes

Be this as it may, the whole of Warwickshire, there is
little reason to doubt, came into the hands of Alfred the
Great by the Treaty of Wedmore in 878, made between
him and Guthrun the Danish leader, and was ultimately
formed by him into a duchy under his daughter
^thelflaed and her husband ^thelred.

The effects of the Danish settlement were important
on the future history of the kingdom, for it was that of
a new people with different customs, modes of life, and
traditions. How far-reaching the occupation was can
be traced in local nomenclature, and the counties which
were anciently West Saxon still retain the names and
boundaries of the divisions founded by the successors
of Cerdic. Mercia, in contradistinction to the local
divisions of Wessex, which were evolved naturally, was
apparently mapped out, and the extent of the Danish
settlement of the county of Warwick may be traced
from the fact that Rugby is the southernmost town
possessing the Danish affix by, whilst there are a con-
siderable number of places so distinguished in the more
northern part of the county.

In the several massacres of the Danes which took
place during the period comprised by the last few years
of the tenth and first years of the eleventh centuries,
the part played by Mercia, and, as a consequence, by
the district afterwards to be known as Warwickshire,
was considerable. The ultimate vengeance for these
massacres, which was taken by Swend in 1013, was
shared by the Mercians as well as by the other in-
habitants of East Anglia and central England. And

ii

Warwickshire

the coming of Canute three years later was destined
to have a far-reaching effect upon the history of the
district, and of England generally.

Arriving with his army and Eadric, the Saxon
Earldorman, who had betrayed his fellow-countrymen
previously, and had, so the Chronicles state, fled from
England to escape their vengeance, Canute crossed the
Thames at Cricklade and entered and ravaged Mercia,
proceeding into Warwickshire during mid-winter's tide,
where the Danes ravaged and burned and slew all that
they could come across. Afterwards Canute and his
forces besieged London. " But," says the Chronicler,
" Almighty God saved it." Failing to capture the city,
the Danes once more returned into Mercia, and carried
fire and sword into its vales and woodlands, slaying
and burning whatever they overran.

On the death of ^Ethelred the Unready two years
later, in 1016, Canute was chosen king at Southampton,
and Edmund, surnamed Ironside, in London. The
latter's reign was short but glorious ; several battles
were fought with the Danes and victories won, in
consequence of which Canute agreed to a division of
the kingdom between Edmund and himself. In this
division Canute took Mercia and Northumbria, and
Edmund the rest of England. In a few months the
latter died in London, and Canute became by common
consent King of England.

The Danish leader's reign brought peace and a large
degree of prosperity for the people over whom he had
been destined to rule. And during his sovereignty

12

The Norman Conquest

Warwickshire at least experienced immunity from
ravishment by fire and sword, and enjoyed a measure
of good government. In the years which immediately
followed little happened to disturb the peace of the
county, although bloody feuds occasionally wrought
destruction in contiguous localities.

With the death of Edward the Confessor a brief
period of unrest ensued, whilst Harold was engaged in
a struggle to retain the throne he had ascended and in
resisting the invasion of William of Normandy, who
claimed that the crown of England had been left him
by Edward the Confessor.

In the fierce Battle of Hastings, waged on the heights
of Sussex, Harold fell fighting, and with him ended
the history of the country under its Anglo-Saxon kings.

Under them England had gained a foretaste of
those principles of individual and personal liberty, in
comparison with which all other so-called freedom can
be but a mockery.

The extent of the occupation of Warwickshire by
the Saxons can be easily traced by the curious from the
number of marks, as their early settlements were called.
Thirty-one of the large number of thirteen hundred
and twenty-nine names of settlements, which have
been traced throughout the land, belong to Warwick-
shire. Some few of the most notable were Leamingas
(Leamington), Beormingas (Birmingham), Ludingas
(Luddington), Whittingas (Whittington), Poeccingas
(Packington),^lmingas(Almington),Secingas(Secking-
ton), and Eardingas (Erdington).

13

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is not possessed of many Saxon
remains. Of architecture dating from before the
Conquest the fragments of round-headed door cases at
Kenilworth, Stretton-on-Dunsmoor, Ryton, Honing-
ham, Badgeley, and Burton Dassett may be mentioned.
While at Polesworth nunnery, the ruins of Merevale
Abbey, and in the churches at Salford Priors and
Beaudesert there are some fragments. Occasionally
Saxon jewels have been turned up in the soil. Perhaps
amongst the most interesting of these relics are the
two Saxon jewels of cut gold, one set with an opal and
rubies, and the other adorned on both sides with a
cross between two rudely-fashioned human figures,
each holding a lance or sword in one hand, found more
than a century and a quarter ago at Walton Hall, near
Compton Verney. Tumuli, of course, exist in different
parts of the country, from which at various times bones,
skulls, and small ornaments have been excavated.

Until the coming of William the Conqueror
Warwickshire was almost without historians or records,
although an attempt at a survey and the accumulation
of historical data had been made in the previous reign
of Edward the Confessor. Though the Saxon Chronicle
gives many interesting and valuable details concerning
lands, places, and incidentally also of the life of the
people of the period, it is to the Domesday Book, that
monumental work of the Conqueror, all historians and
students have to go when in search of information
regarding the English counties at the time of, im-
mediately prior to, and after the Conquest. The value

H

Warwickshire and Domesday Book

of this truly wonderful work as regards Warwickshire
in particular is considerably enhanced by reason of its
containing a comparative report of the nature, extent,
and value of the different estates, names of towns, and
position of roads in the reign of Edward the Confessor.
From its pages one is enabled to gain a more or less
vivid idea of the extent of the county, its inhabitants,
and its peculiarities at a time when English history and
that of Warwickshire was in the making.

In this wonderful work, commenced in 1081
and completed in 1086, are to be found records of
all the original Saxon landowners (many of whom
were afterwards dispossessed by their conquerors), and
the value and extent of their estates. The original
holders of the Saxon manors and estates in Warwick-
shire suffered severely at the hands of the Norman
invader ; and the pages of the Domesday Book afford
interesting evidence of how wide-spread these confisca-
tions were. The population of the county at that time
was a few less than seven thousand, all told.

The period immediately succeeding the Conquest
was one of great suffering for the vanquished. Year
after year the Saxon Chronicle sets down a tale of wars,
pestilences, storms, and famines, and although there is
no direct reference to Warwickshire, it is certain that
the county bore its part in " the sufferings inflicted by
the acts of tyrannous man and the wisdom of God."

From the tangle of the history of this period it is
no easy task to seek to justly estimate the part played
by Warwickshire in the history of the country at large.

IS

Warwickshire

But towards the end of Henry III.'s reign it was
the scene of some of the most stirring and momentous
episodes of the Barons' War. The struggle between
the King and the Barons under the leadership of
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, centred, so far
as Warwickshire was concerned, round Kenilworth and
Warwick. De Montfort at the outset of the war
garrisoned the former castle and placed Sir John Gifford
in command. The latter and the troops of the garrison
promptly ravaged the country round about, destroying
the manor-houses and farms of those who were well-
affected to the King. And finding that the Earl of
Warwick had espoused the Royal cause the Kenilworth
garrison, under the leadership of its governor, surprised
and made a vigorous attack upon Warwick, taking
the Earl and Countess prisoners.

In the year following the Battle of Lewes was
fought, on May 14, 1264, in which the Barons under
De Montfort were victorious. Prince Edward and his
troops afterwards made a forced march and appeared
before Kenilworth and routed De Montfort and dis-
persed his force. De Montfort took refuge in the
castle, and ultimately effected his escape. With the
small force at his command Prince Edward felt unable
to successfully attack a fortress of such strength, but in
a skirmish hard by he succeeded in capturing much
booty, and no less than fifteen of the Barons' standards,
which were destined a short time later to prove of
peculiar service to the victor.

Abandoning all intention of reducing Kenilworth

16

COUGHTON COURT.

Battle of Evesham

Castle Edward and his troops pushed on their way
towards Evesham, just over the border, in the neighbour-
ing county of Worcestershire, bearing the captured
standards in the van. At Evesham lay the Earl of
Leicester, awaiting his son De Montfort, who, at the
time of his defeat near Kenilworth by Prince Edward,
had been on his way to join the Earl, then in Wales.
Deceived by the standards the forces of the Barons
prepared not to resist the advancing army, but to
welcome it, under the mistaken impression that the
force was that of their expected friends.

After the fierce engagement, fought on a torrid
August day in 1265, on the high ground known as
Green Hill, between the roads to Birmingham and
Worcester, and about a mile outside the town, in
which not only was the Earl of Leicester, Henry
de Montfort and many nobles slain, but the power
of the Barons finally broken, Simon de Montfort, who
had escaped, fled to Kenilworth and afterwards to
France.

After the conclusion of the Barons' war, for almost
two centuries this most lovely of English counties
rested in the tranquillity which during that period
marked the years as they passed in central England,
whatever happenings fell to dwellers on the coasts.

Only the merest echoes of the French wars of
Edward III. and the glorious victories of Crecy and
Poitiers seem to have reached the peaceful vales of
Warwickshire ; though old Records and Chronicles
bear witness that the country contributed of her money

'7 3

Warwickshire

and her sons to uphold the might of England. And
the same may be said of the brave doings at Agincourt,
Crevant, Verneuil, and Herrings ; and the defeat
sustained at Patay which counted for so much in the
future history of the race. At most the disturbing
influence of these wars was represented by the rumours,
which travelled not fast in those times, the visits of the
recruiting officers of the day, the appeal for followers
made by some manorial lord, or the breathless tales
told by returned wounded, or veterans from the
" stricken fields " of fair France.

The religious life of the county was, as in other
parts of England at this time, ministered to by the
monks of foundations, such as Warwick Priory ;
Stoneleigh Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded by
the monks of Radmore, Staffordshire, who relinquished
their estates in that county to Henry II. in exchange
for those of Stoneleigh ; Temple Balsall, near Knowle,
erected by the Knights Templars in the reign of
Richard II. ; Combe Abbey, near Coventry, the second
Cistercian foundation in the county, built in the reign
of Stephen ; Merevale Abbey, near Atherston, founded
and richly endowed by Robert, Earl Ferrers, in the
middle of the twelfth century in one of the most
beautiful spots in the northern part of the county ; and
the once magnificent Maxstoke Priory, built in 1336
by William de Clinton for an establishment of the
Augustines. From these and other religious houses
emanated what of learning and religion the country-
folk knew in the Middle Ages, and with the passing

18

York and Lancaster

away of the monkish owners at the time of the Dis-
solution, although abuses had undoubtedly crept in
which called loudly for and needed stringent action
and redress, Warwickshire was the poorer. It was
to the monasteries and religious orders, rightly or
wrongly, that the humble folk had looked for salvation,
protection, and healing in the ancient days when almost
all learning as well as knowledge of physic was to be
found within cloistered walls.

With the accession of Henry VI. of Winchester,
weak and totally unfitted to govern during the
turbulent times which lay in the immediate future,
trouble soon manifested itself amongst the power-
ful nobles ; these the King proved quite unable to
reduce to order. To make matters worse nearly the
whole of the vast possessions held by England in
France, which had been won by the triumphant arms
of Henry V., were lost, adding to the bitterness and
discontent which already was bringing the country at
large to a state bordering upon anarchy. The serious
family quarrels which had commenced whilst the King
was still a minor, involving many of the noble houses,
either in support of the claims of the House of York
or the House of Lancaster, became acute. Shakespeare,
in " Henry VI.," well and vividly pictures the historic
scene in the Temple Gardens, in front of which in
those days flowed a " clear, reed-begirt Thames," which
was destined to give the coming contest its name, and
describes the quarrel between the Earl of Somerset
and Richard Plantagenet. The Earl of Warwick,

'9

Warwickshire

whilst in the company of the latter, by tradition is
stated to have plucked a white rose, which was after-
wards adopted as the badge of the Yorkists, and
whilst doing so he makes the following speech : —

This blot that they object against your house
Shall be wiped out in the next parliament,
Call'd for the truce of Winchester and Gloster ;
And, if thou be not then created York,
I will not live to be accounted Warwick.
Meantime, in signal of my love for thee,
Against proud Somerset and William Pole,
Will I upon thy party wear this rose :
And here I prophesy, — This brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction, in the Temple Garden,
Shall send, between the red rose and the white,
A thousand souls to death and deadly night.

In the bloody struggle, which lasted intermittently
for a period of thirty years, and was foreshadowed so
accurately by Warwick's speech, his own county was
destined to play a far more intimate and important role
than many other parts of England where, indeed, the
battle royal between the houses of York and Lancaster
was regarded with comparatively slight interest. With
the final rupture of the parties, which took place in
1455, Warwickshire entered upon another period of
unrest, such as had afflicted its peace, progress, and
prosperity during the Barons' War.

The struggle was possibly rendered the more
disastrous from the fact that the county was divided in
opinion regarding the merits of the " rival Roses."
The supporters of the House of York numbered many

20

The " King Maker "

of the most powerful families in Warwickshire, in
addition to that of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick,
destined to go down to posterity as " the King Maker."
But while the town of Warwick was for York, this
advantage was somewhat counterbalanced by the strong
Lancastrian sympathies of Coventry, but twelve miles
distant.

Henry of Lancaster and his Queen, Margaret, had
sedulously wooed the latter town by frequent visits, and
also by making it and several adjoining parishes a
separate county. Coventry saw a good deal of the
Red Rose faction, and at the re-commencement of the
war, which had languished after the first battle of St.
Albans in 1455, at tne time tne Earls of Warwick
and March (the latter of whom was afterwards made
Edward IV.) set out for London in search of the King's
forces, the Lancastrians were actually quartered at
Coventry. The troops, however, did not remain long
in the town, but marching south-east under the com-
mand of the Duke of Buckingham, encountered the
Yorkist forces at Northampton on July 10, 1460,
suffering a disastrous defeat, when Henry himself was
captured. Amongst the more notable Warwickshire
adherents of the King who fell was Sir Henry Lucy, of
Charlecote, near Stratford-on-Avon.

Ten years later saw Warwick " the King Maker "
espousing the cause of Lancaster. After his quarrel
with Edward IV. he had fled to France, and there at
the Court of Louis XI. had met with and been recon-
ciled to Margaret, and exiled Queen of Henry VI. of

21

Warwickshire

Windsor, and Edward's own brother the Duke of
Clarence. In the same year (1470) Warwick and
Clarence made a descent upon England, and Edward
fled to Flanders. On the landing of Warwick, Henry
VI., who although deposed was still alive, was pro-
claimed ; and for a short period the Lancastrian
dynasty may be said to have been restored.

On the return of Edward in the following year the
Earl of Warwick took the field at the head of the
Lancastrian forces. He was not long destined, however,
to profit by his change of sides, for, encountering the
army which Edward, who had been rejoined by the
Duke of Clarence, had hastily gathered together at
Barnet, " the King Maker " was utterly defeated and
slain on April 14, 1471. The landing of Margaret,
which had taken place at Weymouth on the same day,
caused the Lancastrian forces to rally after the battle of
Barnet, but they were finally overthrown on May 4
at Tewkesbury, after which Edward, son of Henry and
Margaret, was treacherously assassinated by the King
and his brother ; and the Duke of Somerset, who had
been captured, executed.

With the defeat and death of " the King Maker "
Warwickshire's active participation in the struggles of
the rival Roses may be said to have come to an end.

A few years later the House of Warwick became
allied to that of York by the marriage of Richard III.
with Anne, daughter of the Earl of Warwick, and
widow of the unhappy Edward V., who had been
murdered by Richard, his uncle.

22

Perkin Warbeck

The final struggle between the rival Roses took
place not in Warwickshire, but in its sister county
Leicestershire at Market Bosworth, in the sanguinary
battle of August 22, 1485, which by the defeat and
death of Richard III. brought the Plantagenet line of
English sovereigns to an end.

Upon the accession of Henry of Richmond after the
battle of Bosworth, the Earl of Warwick, son of the
Duke of Clarence, was imprisoned in the Tower. And
on the advent of Perkin Warbeck, who represented
himself to be Richard, Duke of York, son of Edward
IV., the fact of Warwick's imprisonment was used by
King Henry VII. 's enemies to his injury and disparage-
ment.

The fate of Warbeck was destined ultimately to
involve that of the unfortunate Earl of Warwick.
Bacon puts the position in a brief phrase, which cannot
be easily surpassed for vivid imagery. He says, " it
was ordained that the winding ivy of a Plantagenet
should kill the true tree itself."

By the execution of the Earl upon Tower Hill in
1499 the male line of the Plantagenets, which had
flourished in great royalty, power, and renown from
the time of Henry II., came to an end ; and there was
no other Earl of Warwick for a period of nearly half
a century.

CHAPTER II

WARWICKSHIRE AND ITS HISTORY FROM THE FIFTEENTH
CENTURY TO MODERN TIMES

FOR many years after the decisive battle of Bosworth
the history of Warwickshire was marked rather by
peaceful and steady progress than by events of intense
interest. No great occurrence of a military or
catastrophic character disturbed its sunny hills and
fertile vales. And even during the reign of Edward
VI., which witnessed the historical struggle between
the Duke of Somerset and Earl of Warwick for power,
Warwickshire enjoyed a period of rest and tranquillity,
unaffected by the schemes and plotting of John Dudley,
who had been created Earl of Warwick by the King.

On the death of Edward VI., however, the county
became involved in the attempt of Warwick, who had
been made Duke of Northumberland, to place Lady
Jane Grey, who had just married his son Lord Guild-
ford Dudley, on the throne to the exclusion of Mary,
half-sister of the late King. The attempt completely
failed and resulted in Warwick's execution as a traitor
on Tower Hill on August 22, 1553, his death being
followed the next year by that of the unfortunate

24

The Armada

lady who had been made the innocent instrument of
his over-weening ambition.

During Mary's reign Warwick's grandson, Ambrose,
was restored to favour, and although the county was
involved in the rising of the Duke of Suffolk and Sir
Thomas Wyatt in February 1554 to depose the Queen
and prevent her marriage with Philip of Spain, the
House of Warwick was not concerned in the rebellion,
which was speedily quashed.

Warwickshire was not permitted to escape the
cruelties and persecutions which distinguished the
disastrous reign of Mary, and among the historical
memories which the county should for ever honour and
cherish with undying love are those of the martyrdom
of Robert Glover and Mrs. Joyce Lewis, both of
Mancetter, and of others ; the former of whom was
burned at the stake in Coventry on September 19,
1555, in company with Cornelias Bungey.

In the succeeding reign of Elizabeth the county
had its part in the general progress and prosperity of
the nation at large. The fear of the threatened
Armada of 1 5 8 5 found Warwickshire, as other counties,
ready and willing to furnish its quota of men and
money for the defence of England. And as the time
of danger drew nearer and the designs of Philip of
Spain became a reality, the numbers of the levies
made in the county increased, until in December
1587 the Lord-Lieutenant received orders from the
Queen to provide 600 men, properly selected and
equipped. Large loans were also successfully raised,

25

Warwickshire

although from the State Papers one gathers that there
were a considerable number of families, probably
Catholics, who objected to contribute. One great
happening only in the county marked this period as
one destined to be ultimately regarded as of world-
wide interest and importance. On April 23, 1564, at
Stratford-on-Avon, William Shakespeare, one of the
greatest poets of any age, was born. A genius not
alone destined to reflect undying lustre upon the
literature of the wonderfully rich Elizabethan age, but
to survive through succeeding centuries of change
in men, modes of thought and fashion as no other
writer has.

Rather less than half a century after Shakespeare's
birth the county was once more brought into prominence
by the famous Gunpowder Plot. Not only were many
of the chief conspirators members of well-known
Warwickshire families, but much of the plotting took
place in the county. The conspiracy, which was in-
tended to compass the death of King James and his
eldest son Prince Henry, and other Protestant noblemen
on the opening of the Parliament in November 1605,
was in the beginning largely the work of one Robert
Catesby, of Bushwood Hall, near Lapworth. Catesby
had taken part in the abortive rebellion of the Earl of
Essex in the previous reign, but had been pardoned
after having paid a fine amounting to £3000. He
would appear to have been " the born plotter " he was
called by an historian of the period, for he was mixed
up in numerous conspiracies previous to the "gun-

26

Gunpowder Plot

powder treason," which cost him his life. At one time
he was probably a Protestant, as he married a daughter
of Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stoneleigh Abbey.

Catesby and his fellow conspirators, in addition to
compassing the death of King James and the heir to the
throne, proposed to seize the person of Prince Charles
or that of the Princess Elizabeth, then living at Combe
Abbey, near Coventry, which had been but recently
erected by Lord Harrington. The ultimate intention
being to marry the Princess to some Catholic nobleman.
Catesby's mother was a Roman Catholic, a Miss
Throckmorton of Coughton Court, near Alcester.
His father, originally a Protestant, had been frequently
brought to book and fined for recusancy. It was
probably the persecution of his father that turned
Robert Catesby's undoubted gifts for plotting into the
channel of the famous Gunpowder Conspiracy. He
at first associated himself with three desperadoes, and
ultimately with Guido Fawkes. The plotters met to
arrange the details of their plan chiefly at Bushwood,
Clopton, Coughton Court, and the ancient manor-
house of Norbrook, not far from Warwick, the home of
John Grant, one of the chief conspirators. This latter
place was the magazine where the arms were stored,
and also a general rendezvous, but the headquarters
were the Lion Inn, at Dunchurch.

At this time Catesby himself was residing at Ashby
St. Ledgers, Northamptonshire, after he had sold his
Warwickshire estates. The plan was to have a hunting
match at Dunsmore, near Dunchurch, and then the

27

Warwickshire

conspirators, on receiving the news that Guido Fawkes'
portion of the work had been faithfully accomplished,
and the Houses of Parliament blown up, were to ride
off to Combe Abbey and seize the person of the
Princess Elizabeth.

On the 5th of November there was a large muster
of people — invited by Sir Everard Digby, whose part in
the plot it was to bring about a " rising " in the Mid-
lands— concerned at Dunchurch, ostensibly for a hunting
party. All day they hung about the street of the little
town, or sat in the parlour of the low-gabled Lion Inn,
hungering for news. Towards midnight these were
thrown into a panic by the arrival of Catesby, Roke-
wood, Percy, the Wrights, and others who had fled
from London on the arrest of Guido Fawkes the night
before, whilst he was at work in the vaults beneath the
Houses of Parliament laying the train that was to
explode the gunpowder on the following day.

The principal conspirators, who, instead of fleeing
the country on Fawkes' arrest, had proceeded post-haste
to Dunchurch, in the hope of still seizing the Princess
and raising a rebellion in her name, on reaching the
village decided to continue their flight, with others who
joined them, on the news of the failure of the plot.

It was ultimately decided to make a stand at Hoi-
beach House, Staffordshire, the residence of Stephen
Littleton, who had only recently joined the conspiracy.
To reach it they had to ford a river, and in doing so
their arms and ammunition became damp. Whilst
drying the powder in front of the fire a spark fell

28

Gunpowder Plot

amongst it ; an explosion occurred, and Catesby,
Morgan, Rokewood, and Grant were badly burned ;
and several of those who had thrown in their lot with
the fugitives took advantage of the confusion to
escape.

On the arrival of the sheriff of Worcestershire and
his posse at Holbeach, the house — which had been
seriously damaged by the explosion — was attacked, and
Catesby and Percy, a member of the Northumberland
family, were shot in the courtyard, where they had in-
tentionally exposed themselves. Rokewood was severely
wounded and taken prisoner with Winter, Grant,
Morgan, and several less known plotters who had
retreated into the house. Others were afterwards
taken whilst hiding in the cover afforded by Snitterfield
Bushes, some six or seven miles to the south-west of
Warwick.

Thus ended one of the most notable conspiracies
in English history, the heinousness of which has
been the subject of much controversy both in the
period immediately following its failure and in recent
times. With the capture and death of the chief par-
ticipants, and the ultimate trial and punishment of
those who had not succeeded in making good their
escape, Warwickshire once more relapsed into its
normal condition of peace and quietude, from which it
was, however, destined to be rudely awakened by the
yet more stirring events of the great Civil War.

At the outbreak of the struggle between Charles I.
and his parliament the county generally declared itself

29

Warwickshire

strongly on the side of the latter ; the then owner of
Warwick Castle, Robert Greville, Lord Brooke, being
one of the most powerful and bitter of the early
opponents of the King. Prominent upon the side of
Charles, however, was found Sir William Dugdale of

* * D

Blythe Hall, the antiquary and historian, who, holding
office as one of the royal heralds and as Garter King-at-
Arms, journeyed with the King to Nottingham and made
the proclamation when the royal standard was set up
on August 22, 1642. The disastrous Civil War may
be said to have then begun, notwithstanding that two
days previously a hot skirmish had taken place at Long
Itchington, some ten miles to the east of Warwick,
between the King's forces and those of the Parliament
under Lord Brooke and Lord Grey.

Although the first serious encounter between the
opposing parties took place in the neighbouring county
of Worcester on September 23, when Prince Rupert
gained an advantage over a body of Parliamentarian
troops, what may be called the first battle of the war
took place just a month later, a little to the south of
Kineton, on the plain below Edge Hill, by which latter
name the engagement is known.

Following hard upon the raising of the Royal
standard at Nottingham, Lord Essex at the head of the
Parliamentarian forces seized Worcester. About the
middle of September the King and the army which had
flocked to his standard marched to Shrewsbury, from
which town on the I2th of the following month they
set out for London. On the i8th of October Charles

30

Civil War

was quartered at Packington Old Hall, the home of Sir
Robert Fisher, about ten miles to the north-west of
Coventry. On the I9th and 2oth the Royal forces were
at Kenilworth, next day at Southam, and on Saturday,
22nd, Charles was the guest of Mr. Toby Chauncy at
Edgecote House, near Cropredy, just over the border
in Oxfordshire ; whilst Prince Rupert and a body of
troops were encamped a few miles to the north at
Wormleighton House, the main body of the Royalist
army being gathered at Edgecote and Cropredy.

Essex, who had left Worcester upon hearing of the
Royalist move towards the capital, reached Kineton on
the eve of the 22nd of October with a portion of his
army, numbering about 13,000 foot and regular horse,
with some 700 dragoons. He was thus numerically
inferior to the Royalists, whose forces numbered about
two thousand more foot. The intention of the Parlia-
mentary leader was to rest his men on the following
day (Sunday), so as to allow the remainder of his
troops to come up with him. These consisted of two
regiments of foot, eleven troops of horse, and seven
pieces of ordnance.

The approach of Essex, the number of his forces
and his intentions became known to Prince Rupert,
through the pickets which he had judiciously stationed
on the high ground at Burton Dassett. A hasty council
of war was held at Cropredy, at which it was decided
to attempt to check the Parliamentary advance, and to
give Essex battle.

Throughout the night of Saturday October 22,

31

Warwickshire

the whole district was astir with the movements of
troops, the little town of Kineton, the Tysoe villages,
Butler's Marston, Burton Dassett, Warmington, Crop-
redy, and Wormleighton being terror-struck with the
massing of the rival forces and passage of swiftly-
travelling messengers.

Almost before it was light the main body of the
Royal army struck camp, and marched by way of
Mollington and Warmington to a position on the
Edge Hills extending from Edge Hill House on the
south to Knowle End on the north, the King's
standard being placed and displayed on the site now
occupied by the Round Tower. The Royal Line was
well protected both on its flanks and in the rear ; whilst
a complete view of the Parliamentarian army, then
disposed in three lines of battle on the plain below in
front of the little town of Kineton, was obtainable,
the ground in front of the Parliamentarians being
even more " open " than it is at the present time.

There would appear to have been good hope on the
Royalist side of a successful issue to the impending
battle. The advantage of position certainly lay with
Charles' troops. The King, after reconnoitring the
enemy through a telescope from Knowle End, where
now stands a crown-shaped mound planted with trees,
rode along the lines of his army clad in steel, wearing
a star and garter, and a black velvet mantle over his
suit of armour. He afterwards addressed the officers,
gathered in his tent for last instructions, in these words,
" Come life or death, your King will bear you company."

32

Battle of Edge Hill

It was the Earl of Lindsey, the King's Lieutenant-
General, who acted as impromptu chaplain and offered
up a quaint and brief prayer in these words : " O Lord,
Thou knowest how busy I must be to-day ! If I forget
Thee, do not Thou forget me. March on, boys ! "

Through that long Sunday morning, on October
23, 1642 (November 2, new style), the forces of Lord
Essex lay and watched the enemy on the heights above
them, and distant from them scarcely more than a
couple of miles ; showing no disposition to risk an
attack upon a position which was undoubtedly so
advantageous as to be worth several thousand men.
At about one o'clock it was decided by the King and
his officers to descend the steep face of the cliff, and
make a frontal attack upon the Parliamentarians
disposed in a long line passing through Battle and
Thistle Farms. In Essex's own regiment commanding
a troop was Oliver Cromwell, then forty-one, who
was destined to ultimately crush the Royal cause on
the fields of Marston Moor and Naseby.

Prince Rupert, who, earlier in the day, had caused
embarrassment by his refusal to serve under orders
save those of King Charles himself, led the cavalry
on the right, Lord Wilmot on the left, whilst the com-
mand of the centre was vested in Sir Jacob Astley
and General Ruthven, with the King and reserves of
pensioners in the rear. Although the day was fine
overhead the ground was wet and miry, and proved
heavy " going " for troops already fatigued by several
days of rapid marching. Close upon two o'clock the

33 5

Warwickshire

muffled boom of two cannon fired by the Parlia-
mentarians rolled across the plain and reverberated
amid the cliffs of the Edge Hills. The momentous
opening of the great Civil War had come.

The Royalists' cavalry on the left swept round, and
charged upon the body of Parliamentarian troops located
at what is now known as Battle Farm, where Essex had
placed some of his artillery. They were repulsed with
considerable loss. Prince Rupert's charge along the
right wing met with more success as it drove back Sir
James Ramsay and the force under his command. But
unhappily for the King the Prince rushed onwards
towards Kineton with characteristic heedlessness to
plunder the Parliamentarian baggage train, unmindful
of the fact that his help was needed, as the Royalists
were losing ground on other parts of the field.

At this hour of the day, although the Parliamentary
left was crumpled up and forced back, the right wing
held its own, as did also the centre ; and when
Rupert returned from his impetuous pursuit, it was too
late to retrieve his error of judgment. The enemy's
centre had not only stood firm but had advanced, forcing
the Royalists to retreat. The arrival of John Hampden,
with a body of troops who promptly opened fire upon
the Prince's horsemen, causing them to flee in great
confusion, completed the disaster, Rupert himself
having to throw away his hat and plumes lest they
should offer a mark to the enemy's musketeers.

The Royal army was now indeed, for some con-
siderable time, in imminent danger of a disastrous and

34

Edge Hill Battlefield

crushing defeat, owing to the severe pressure on its
left front.

Both armies suffered severely, almost equally so,
states a contemporary account, but inasmuch as the
Parliamentarians had held their ground and the
Royalists had been compelled to retire from the assault,
the advantage was with some justness claimed by the
former. The number of killed was very large, but
contemporary estimates are so contradictory that it is
almost impossible to obtain figures of any exactness.
Probably Sir William Dugdale, who, present during
the engagement, afterwards went over the field and
estimated the number of those actually slain to have
been rather more than noo, is approximately correct.

Although the enclosures have altered the general
appearance of the field of battle from that which it bore
on that disastrous Sunday of October 23, 1642, the
main lines can even nowadays be traced with con-
siderable clearness and accuracy. And the " Sun
Rising," a fine, old stone house, has survived the
course of the years, as has also the old Beacon Tower, at
Burton Dassett, on the summit of which the first signal
fire was kindled in the cresset by the Parliamentarians
to send the news of the battle London-wards to the
next station at Ivinghoe, some forty miles distant,
and thence to Harrow-on-the-Hill.

The months immediately succeeding the first struggle
at Edge Hill saw some great happenings. Warwick
had held out when called upon by Sir William
Dugdale to surrender in the King's name, though

35

Warwickshire

Banbury yielded. But at Coventry the anti-Royalist
faction was all powerful, the " rebels," " sectaries," and
" schismatics " gathered thick within its walls, where
they deemed immunity from molestation more certain
than in unprotected towns. Kenilworth at the com-
mencement of the war had been garrisoned for the King,
but the defenders were soon stealthily withdrawn as
the rebels in the district increased in numbers ; a fight
between them and a body of Parliamentarian troops
from Coventry taking place at Curdworth near Coles-
hill, just prior to the battle of Edge Hill.

So far as Warwickshire's part in the Civil War is
concerned the most stirring and memorable event
after the battle of Edge Hill was the attack upon and
the destruction of a part of Birmingham by Prince
Rupert on Easter Monday of the year 1643.

Although many echoes of the struggle which was
fiercely waged, and with varying fortune to the con-
tending parties, up and down the country for a further
period of two and a half years, reached Warwickshire,
and although several severe engagements were fought
in the neighbouring counties of Oxfordshire, North-
amptonshire, and Berkshire, no very considerable
fighting took place in Warwickshire itself after the
burning of Birmingham. It was, however, so near the
field of other actions that its peace was perpetually
disturbed during the succeeding years, until the final
crushing of the Royalist adherents at Naseby on June
14, 1645, an<^ tne surrender of the King to the
Scots in the following year at Newark. Troops passed

36

Escape of Charles

along its peaceful lanes on many occasions, and manor-
houses were raided by detached bodies of Royalists
and Parliamentarians, producing a feeling of unrest and
insecurity amongst the inhabitants, and imparting an
element of romance to many a time-worn building.

With the return of Charles II. in the early years of
the Commonwealth, and during the brief campaign
succeeding his invasion of England to assert his king-
ship, which ended so disastrously on " Cromwell's
day," September 3, 1651, at the battle of Worcester,
Warwickshire once more knew the presence of troops
within its peaceful confines, and the hurrying to and fro
along its lanes and byways of fugitive Royalists and
armed pursuers.

After the battle Charles, whilst escaping in disguise,
in company with Miss Jane Lane, fled into Warwick-
shire, narrowly escaping capture by some of the Lord
Protector's men near Bearley Cross. It was in the
kitchen of a house at Long Marston that the royal fugi-
tive, to render his disguise more effective, took his turn
at the kitchen spit ! And Packington Old Hall also
sheltered him and his companion during their flight.

Warwickshire played no very prominent part in the
history of the half century immediately succeeding
the Restoration, and although the intervening years
between the latter and the Napoleonic Wars saw many
changes, the life of the county was on the whole
placid and uneventful. Situated far inland, the wars
of the closing years of the eighteenth and early years
of the nineteenth century made little impression

37

Warwickshire

on a county then so agricultural in its interests and
pursuits.

During the first quarter of the nineteenth century
Warwick grew little, though remaining the county town ;
and even the anciently renowned city of Coventry had
but an uneventful history, and progress chiefly remark-
able for its development of the ribbon industry.

Birmingham was as yet almost unthought of as a
great industrial centre of population.

The history of Warwickshire during the middle
and latter years of the nineteenth century is chiefly
industrial, although the period which has seen the rise
of Birmingham has not been entirely without an under-
lying element of romance. The " hardware town " had
from early times, as we have already pointed out,
attracted many artisans, skilled workmen, and ingenious
inventors to itself by reason of its freedom from cor-
porate restrictions. And at the end of the eighteenth
century it had commenced to grow and expand, not, of
course, at first with the rapidity that was later on
to mark its advance ; but, nevertheless, with an ex-
pansion which was notable and also marked in the
character of its industries. The gun and sword trades,
which had existed at the time of the Civil War, grew
steadily ; and to these were added others connected
with iron, steel, and brass, and in the days of Edmund
Burke the rise of the jewellery trade, and that of other
ornaments, had made it what he described as " the toy
shop of Europe."

Indeed, the growth and progress of Birmingham

38

Reform Bill Agitation

has shed upon Warwickshire almost all the lustre which
it has enjoyed for more than a century, and since the
passing away of the more stirring days of internecine
strife. As was but natural the town, now become a
centre of a vast unrepresented population, took an
active and prominent part in the agitation which pre-
ceded the passing of the great Reform Bill of 1832 ;
and its famous public meetings in support of that
measure not only may be said to have represented the
county as well as Birmingham itself, but also the
Midlands generally.

Defeated in 1831, the measure was reintroduced in
the following year, and was read a third time on the
1 9th of March, and on the 26th of the same month
was sent up to the Lords. It passed its second read-
ing, but there were grave fears that it would be thrown
out at the third. An enormous gathering of the
Birmingham Union on New Hall Hill, at which
200,000 people were stated to be present, took place
in support of the Bill. In the petition to the House
of Lords, sent by this great gathering, it was prayed
that they would not mutilate the Bill, and that they
" would not drive to despair a high-minded, a generous,
and fearless people."

The news that the Bill was defeated and that Lord
Grey had resigned stirred up the whole population —
timid and fearless, enthusiasts and apathetics alike
— whose anger and determination to see this measure
become law were manifested in no uncertain way.
Still treasured in some households are copies of the

39

Warwickshire

i

placards that were exhibited, which bore these
words : —

NOTICE.

No Taxes paid here

Until
The Reform Bill is Passed.

In the subsequent agitation for the repeal of the
Corn Laws Birmingham also took its part, and in con-
nection with this there was once more serious rioting.

The political prominence of Birmingham, first earned
in the reign of Charles I., has continued of steady
growth, although its "great fame for hearty, wilful
affected disloyalty" asserted by Clarendon happily no
longer abides with it.

Warwickshire, as we have stated, was in ancient
times largely an agricultural county, and, indeed, may
still be reckoned so. Its well-watered meads and
pleasant valleys providing pasturage for cattle, and its
rich soil being productive of excellent crops.

The war, however, brought about a great change in
the nature of its industries. The men were in large
numbers called off the land to supply the needs of man
power in the army ; their places were taken by older
men who were above military age, by boys, women,
and girls of all ranks in society.

The temporary growth in population of such towns
as Coventry and Birmingham was another noticeable
effect of the necessities of war. On the outskirts of
the latter town temporary dwellings were erected in
large numbers to accommodate the munitions workers

40

Reform Bill Agitation

drawn to Birmingham from all parts of the country, and
in the case of the former town enormous building
operations were undertaken to provide factories and to
house the workers engaged in the same.

Coventry in war time was a very different place to
the town of even the period immediately preceding the
outbreak of hostilities ; and different from the city of
to-day which has gradually tended to return to the
normal.

The development of the munitions industries in the
county formed one of the most significant features of
its life from the spring of 1915 to the autumn of 1918.
Not only was the very face of the countryside greatly
altered in many districts, but the very lives of the people
underwent a radical though temporary change.

Unfortunately industrial unrest, which immediately
followed the armistice and extended into several of the
succeeding years, prevented Warwickshire from making
full use of the enormously increased facilities for out-
put of manufactured articles for which the county has
long been famous. Even factories which only needed
conversion in comparatively unimportant details to fit
them for the struggle to capture the world-trade that
waited to be won by enterprise and hard work were left
idle or were very imperfectly adapted to the needs of
peaceful production.

But that there is a great future for this county in the
very heart of England when industry has learned its
lesson, and enterprise is once more harnessed to the
chariot wheels of commerce no one can doubt.

Warwickshire

To-day Warwickshire has largely recovered from the
temporary dislocation of its life by war, and has returned
to its more normal occupations and mode of living.

Its war record, to be read in the gallant deeds of its
fighting sons, and in the amazing work performed by
its women, girls, lads, and older men, gives it a place of
honour among the counties of central England, as its
natural loveliness has given it one of compelling charm
among the most beautiful.

CHAPTER III

FAYRE WARWICK. TOWN : ITS HISTORY AND ROMANCE

THE town of Warwick is undoubtedly of very ancient
origin, and from the earliest period of its existence has
been considered the chief town of the shire. It is
situated upon a rocky plateau on the north side of the
river Avon, and blessed with a dry and fertile soil, with
luxuriant meadows on one side and well-wooded and
well-cultivated lawns on the other.

It seems not unlikely indeed that Gutherline or
Kimberline, one of the British kings who lived in the
time of Christ, was the founder of the first settle-
ment at Warwick, and that Guiderius, the former's
son, enlarged the town and bestowed upon it consider-
able privileges. Originally, according to Rous, it was
known as Caer-guthleon, contracted into Caer-leon,
derived from Casr, a fortress, and Guthline, the name
of its founder.

It was upon the site of an ancient church of All
Saints founded by St. Dubritius that the first castle
was ultimately built ; and about this time that King
Vortigern gave his ill-judged invitation to the

43

Warwickshire

Saxons, who, arriving nominally to assist him against
the Picts and Scots, turned their swords against the
nation to whose assistance they had come.

St. Dubritius fled during these disorders to Wales
for safety, and abandoned Warwick, his cathedral, and
his see to the mercy of the invaders.

One ancient historian gives a vivid description of
the rapine and destruction to which the centre of
England in general, and Warwick in particular, was
at that time subjected. And in his pages one sees the
surging hosts of Picts and Scots and Britons and
Saxons contending for the mastery of what was, even
in those days, one of the most fertile and desirable
districts of all England.

Raided, burned, with many of the inhabitants put
to the sword, Warwick lay in ruins until the coming
of King Warremund, the forbear of the kings of
Mercia, who rebuilt the town. Under his rule and
that of his descendants the town is stated to have
flourished and grown in size and importance until the
coming of the Danes.

After some years, in which it once more lay in
ruins, Warwick rose phoenix-like from its ashes under
the hand of Lady ^Ethelflasd, daughter of King Alfred
the Great and wife of King ^thelred. This princess
in the year 915 built the first castle and a fortification
called the Dungeon (donjon or keep ?), and this
building served as a residence of the earls from that
date for a century and a half, until the coming of
William the Conqueror.

44

The De Newburghs

I ft the early years of William the Conqueror,
Turchill, a Saxon, was Earl of Warwick, a man of
great power, possessions, and influence ; and he it was
who was commanded by William the Conqueror to
fortify the town more strongly by means of walls and
ditches, and to add to and strengthen the existing
castle.

A little later King William gave to his Norman
favourite Henry de Newburgh the title of Earl of
Warwick and a grant of the castle, town, and suburbs,
to be held in capite per Servitum Comitatus. The new
Earl conferred upon one of his priests one-tenth of his
tolls, as an offering for the health of his soul. And
Roger de Newburgh, his son, who succeeded him,
^4 : i os. rent for a similar purpose to his priest.

In 1261, in the reign of Henry III., John de
Plessetis, who had married Margery, the last heiress of
the De Newburghs, and thereby had succeeded to the
earldom, granted to the burgesses a charter to enable
them to hold each year a fair lasting three days, for
which privilege they paid no toll, — a concession of
far more value and importance than appears to the
uninitiated.

The male branch of the De Newburghs failing, the
family was succeeded by that of Mauduit, and one of
these, William, who was a supporter of Henry III.,
was surprised and taken prisoner during the wars of
the barons, and, in consequence of the capture, the
walls of Warwick Castle were destroyed. He was
also obliged to pay for the ransom of himself and his

45

Warwickshire

Countess the then large sum of 1900 marks (about
£1250). He died childless, and was succeeded by his
sister's husband, William de Beauchamp, who in the
reign of Edward I. possessed the borough in chief in
1279, and also held annually a fair, which lasted for
sixteen days, commencing on the eighth day before the
Feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, and a weekly market on
Wednesdays.

A strange sidelight on these days is thrown by the
record that there was a pillory and tumbril as well as
assize of bread in connection with this fair. De
Beauchamp also instituted a fifteen days' fair, which
commenced on the eve of the Feast of St. Peter and
Paul.

In the year 1290 William de Beauchamp's successor,
Guy, finding it necessary to undertake considerable
works for the walling in of the town and the paving of
its streets, was granted a patent by Edward I. by which
he was entitled to receive a toll during seven years
on all vendible articles. But the works not having
been completed within that period, he and his successor
Thomas obtained an extension of the original or similar
patents for ten years longer.

A very interesting circumstance in connection with
the Thomas de Beauchamp we have just referred to,
who had in 1351 a charter of free warren at Warwick,
is that he " at the suit of his lady, and for the health
of his own soul and his ancestors' souls," freed the
traders resorting hither for the future from terrage,
stallage, and all other sorts of toll. The petition

46

Municipal History

having been made because the said traders had been,
by the heavy exactions of previous holders of the
title, driven away from the market at Warwick, to
the great detriment of the town.

The Municipal history of Warwick is unfortunately
very obscure, although there seems little or no doubt
that the town was anciently incorporated and had the
privilege of returning members to Parliament, but
when it was first incorporated, and whether such in-
corporation and privilege continued without interrup-
tion is not ascertainable. A record, however, exists that
there was a Mayor in 1279, in the reign of Edward I.,
and that twenty-one years later the Mayor of the day
and bailiffs were ordered to allow Phillip de Rout
and William de Serdely reasonable expenses for their
services as members of Parliament for that year.
Afterwards, however, in the reign of Edward III., the
King's mandate for the same purpose was, strange to
tell, addressed to the bailiffs only.

The earliest known date of incorporation under
royal charter with the designation of bailiff and
burgesses occurs in the reign of Philip and Mary, but
it is certain that letters patent were granted by Henry
VIII. in 1546 to the borough under the Municipal
tide of " burgesses only." This grant of letters patent
was confirmed by one from James I. in 1613, and was
again followed by another during the reign of William
and Mary, bearing the date of March 5, 1694, which
remains the governing charter of the borough down
to the present time.

47

Warwickshire

The history of the town of Warwick has, as we
have remarked in a previous chapter, been largely that
of the county itself, and during the ages when wars
and revolts swayed parties in England the town played
its part in the romantic and tragic happenings of those
times.

The old stone cross, which stood at the intersection
of the two ancient and principal streets as late as the
reign of James I., has long ago disappeared, but in few
towns in England are there more notable survivals of
ancient times to be found than in Warwick. One of
the most interesting buildings is the ancient Chapel
of St. James, now known as the West Gate, and
formerly as the Hongyn Gate, standing where the High
Street terminates, on the crest of the hill, supported
for its entire length by a lofty groined archway, itself
placed on the bed-rock which rises several feet above
the road surface. This structure anciently formed a
defensive gateway to the old and fortified town.

In the reign of Henry I. 'this chapel was given by
Roger, Earl of Warwick, to the Church of St. Mary.
That it was of very small value is proved by the fact
that in 1368, in the reign of Edward III., the latter was
estimated at only £1.

In 1383, in the reign of Richard II., the advowson
was given to the Guild of St. George, and the
fraternity established in Warwick the same year was
founded by a license granted to Robert Dynelay,
Hugh Cooke, and William Russell on the 2oth of
April, giving them privilege to extend their numbers

48

.

Guild of St. George

by admission of other inhabitants of the borough, and
to build a chantry for two priests to sing mass every
day in the Chapel, which stood over the west gate, for
the good estate of King Richard and his consort Ann ;
of his mother, also Michael de la Pole, and all the
brothers and sisters of the said Guild during their lives
in this world, and for the everlasting happiness of their
souls, as also for the souls of King Edward III.,
Edward Prince of Wales, the father of Richard II.,
and their royal progenitors, and all the faithful departed.

Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, eventually
had license to give the advowson of the Church of
St. James at the same time that the Guild brethren
purchased two houses, a loft, and the quarry in Warwick
for their use.

At length, however, the Guild of St. George the
Martyr and the Guild of the Holy Trinity and the
Virgin, in the early part of Henry VI. 's reign, became
one, and four priests belonging to the Guilds sang
masses ; two of them at " Our Lady's Chapel " in
St. Mary's, and the others in the two chapels built
over the gates. This Guild also paid in part the
secular canons attached to St. Mary's Church, gave a
weekly dole of alms to eight poor people of the Guild,
and also assisted in maintaining the great bridge over
the Avon.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the
establishment was granted by Edward VI., on July
23, 1551, to Sir Nicholas 1'Estrange, Kt. and his heirs.
And from him it passed into the possession of Robert

49 7

Warwickshire

Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who made it in 1571, in
the reign of Elizabeth, a hospital for twelve men, called
brethren, and a master, who must be a clergyman of the
Church of England ; the preference being given to the
Vicar of St. Mary's if he offered himself for the post.
The appointment of these brethren is vested in the heirs
of the founder, now represented by Lord D'Lisle and
Dudley, of Penhurst Place, in the county of Kent, who
is a descendant of Mary, the sister of Robert Dudley,
who married Sir Henry Sidney, of the same place.

The brethren elected to this foundation must,
according to the statutes, be either tenants or servants
of the founder or his heirs, and resident in the county
of Warwick, or soldiers of the Sovereign, more especi-
ally those who had been wounded on active service ;
the latter to be chosen from the parishes of Warwick,
Kenilworth, and Stratford-on-Avon, or from those of
Wooton-under-Edge and Erlingham, in the county of
Gloucester.

Of recent years radical changes have been made in
the charity, one of these being that provision is now
made for the housing and maintenance in the hospital
itself of twelve women, wives of the brethren. Now-
adays, as none of the founder's heirs have tenants
resident in either of the two counties, the brethren are
chosen under the second provision we have mentioned,
and all of them have been soldiers of the Crown.
Here now dwell in comfort arid peace the master and
the twelve brethren, the former having a salary of £400
and a residence ; and the latter pensions amounting to

50

Leicester's Hospital

£80 each, with separate apartments, consisting of bed-
room, sitting-room, and pantry, with the use of a common
kitchen and the services of a cook and housekeeper.

There are many interesting customs in connection
with the hospital ; one of which is that the brethren
must daily attend service in the chapel, and are obliged
when they appear in public to wear a blue gown, on
the sleeve of which is worn a silver badge with the
crest of the bear and ragged staff. With one exception
these badges are the ancient ones originally provided ;
the exception being a modern reproduction in facsimile
of the badge which was stolen many years ago.

The beautiful specimen of a half-timbered building,
which stands raised upon a lime-shaded terrace above
the road level, is approached through an arch gateway,
above which is the inscription, " Hospitivm Collegiatvm
Roberti Dvdlei Comitis Leycestriae," with the date
1571, and the Dudley device, a double -tailed lion
rampant in the left spandril, and the device of the
Sidneys, a barbed dart, in the other.

On the front of the house is a fine old sun-dial,
with the initials E. R., and there are also thirteen shields,
with the armorial bearings of the various families
connected with the founder, the most distinguished
having been placed over the archway leading to the
inner quadrangle. On the north side of the latter is
the master's residence, behind which is a pleasant old-
fashioned garden, from the western side of which there
is a fine view of the surrounding country and the
distant Cotswold Hills.

Warwickshire

The garden contains a famous mulberry tree, almost
old enough to be historic, and in summer time the spot
is gay with the bloom of old-fashioned flowers. There
is a charming vista of foliage and lawn through a
fine Norman circular-headed arch which, found during
repairs to the chapel, was erected in its present position
some years ago. On the eastern side of the garden
is an open space, and the brethren's apartments are
arranged on the south and west sides of the quad-
rangle. On the right side of the latter is the famous
old kitchen, in which the brethren pass a great deal
of their time on chilly days, smoking and chatting,
often fighting their battles o'er again, surrounded by
many historic relics, including a handsome black oak
cabinet once in Kenilworth Castle ; an ancient Saxon
chair ; and another used by James I. at the supper he
took with Sir Fulke Greville.

One of the most interesting relics is the portion of
a curtain from Cumnor Hall, said to have been worked
by ill-fated Amy Robsart. Amongst the more martial
are halberds and pistols of ancient date, the King of
Dahomey's State execution sword, and some interest-
ing copper tankards dating some two hundred years
back.

The great banqueting hall, in which Sir Fulke
Greville in 1617 entertained James I., is on the western
side of the quadrangle, but it has fallen on evil times,
and is now divided up into domestic offices.

The chapel in which the brethren worship is reached
by a flight of steps from the outer terrace, which runs

52

Interesting Relics

in front of the alms-houses at an elevation above the
street. The tower of the present interesting building
was in all probability erected by Thomas de Beauchamp
about the end of the fourteenth century, and on the
embattled parapet are to be seen his arms.

In 1863 the stability of the building gave some
cause for anxiety, and flying buttresses were added on
the south side for the purpose of strengthening it. Prior
to that date the chapel was unfortunately disfigured
by several eighteenth -century additions, which were
removed and a thorough and well-advised restoration
undertaken.

Dividing the chapel into almost equal portions is
a finely-carved oak screen, within which are the stalls
of the brethren and officials. Near the altar is an
interesting piece of needlework of floral design, said to
have come from the hands of Amy Robsart.

Beneath the chapel is the gateway, similar to that on
the eastern side of the town, built on the sandstone
rock and with strong vaulting, which formed a part of
the twelfth-century fortifications.

A little beyond Northgate Street, on a knoll, stands
the Priory, formerly dedicated to St. Sepulchre, and
founded by Henry de Newburgh, first Earl of Warwick,
as a monastery for Canons Regular. At the time of
the Dissolution of Monasteries this ancient foundation
was granted to a trusted retainer of John Dudley, Earl
of Northumberland, Thomas Hawkins, whose father
sold fish at the town Market Cross. Unappreciative of
either antiquity or the traditions of the building into

53

Warwickshire

whose possession he had come, Hawkins, as might be
anticipated, pulled down the monastery and on the site
of it erected the present building, which was finished
about 1565.

In this fine old Elizabethan mansion, with its many
windows and gables and air of ancient peace, is a
lofty hall and a magnificent old oak staircase and oak-
panelled dining-room. The south front is comparatively
modern, as it was rebuilt about the middle of the
eighteenth century ; but the north front still preserves
many of its original features.

One of the most interesting incidents connected
with the house was the surprise visit paid by Queen
Elizabeth on August 17, 1572, who, coming over
from Kenilworth unexpectedly, found the Earl and
Countess of Warwick at supper, and sat down to
the meal with them. The owner of the house was
confined to his bed ; but the Queen, who, if tradition
may be believed, was less austere than historians would
have us infer, setting aside ceremony, visited "the
good man of the house, who at that time was grievously
vexed with the gout."

The first owner of the Priory, by means of grants
and judicious purchases, managed to accumulate a large
amount of property, which, in less than four years
from the date of his death — occurring in 1576 — his
son Edward had squandered, even to the selling of
his home to Sergeant Puckering, then Lord Keeper of
the Great Seal, whom he sought to cheat by means of
a fraudulent conveyance. Hawkins was prosecuted in

54

St. John's Hospital

the Star Chamber, and eventually ended his days in the
Fleet Prison.

The Priory remained in the possession of the
Puckering family until the beginning of the eighteenth
century, when it became the property of a Mr. Henry
Wise, a superintendent of the Royal Gardens at
Hampton Court. Although this fine survival of
domestic architecture of Elizabethan times was of
necessity acquired by the Great Western Railway
Company in the middle of the last century, in connec-
tion with the extension of their line to Birmingham,
it fortunately escaped destruction, and was eventually
sold by the Company to Mr. Thomas Lloyd, a banker
of Birmingham.

At the foot of Smith Street, which runs down from
the East Gate, stands the fine old house known as St.
John's Hospital, founded in the reign of Henry II. by
William de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, as a hospital in
aid of the poor, and for relief and reception of strangers.

The first occupants of this interesting building were
Knights Templars, who were succeeded by the Knights
of St. John. After the Dissolution of Monasteries
it fell into the hands of one Anthony Stoughton, a
descendant of whom — Nicholas Stoughton — erected the
present building at the commencement of the seven-
teenth century. The property eventually came into
the possession of the Warwick family, and still remains
so. The interior of the house is well worth inspection,
as it contains a fine Jacobean oak staircase, and a
panelled, tapestry-hung room.

55

Warwickshire

Of the many churches, stated to have been ten in
number, in addition to the Priory, Nunnery, and other
religious houses which existed in early times, little is
known ; but two — those of St. Mary and St. Nicholas
— which still survive were, even in the reign of Edward
III., found to afford sufficient accommodation for the
inhabitants of the town. Indeed, an ancient decree
dated 1367 enjoined upon all persons that they should
attend the church of St. Mary. The sites of several
other churches, it is true, are known, but nearly all
visible traces of them have long ago disappeared. Of
these aforetime ecclesiastical buildings the church of
St. Michael, in the northern part of the town, is
nowadays a blacksmith's shop, whilst that of John the
Baptist was formerly near the centre of the market-
place, and St. Helen's was replaced by the Priory of
St. Sepulchre. The church of St. Peter, which was
pulled down in the reign of Henry VI., stood in the
middle of the town, and another dedicated to the
same saint was built over the eastern gate, whilst St.
Lawrence's was situated on the western side.

Of the religious houses few traces remain, all of
them having been dissolved, and many of them entirely
pulled down at the date of the Reformation.

St. Mary's, the principal and beautiful church, stands
upon the site of a much earlier building, which existed
prior to the Conquest, and was in 1 123 made collegiate
by the transferring of the Collegiate Church of All
Saints from within the Castle. It is probable that the
present building was either rebuilt or very much

56

A Disastrous Fire

enlarged by Roger de Newburgh in the reign of
Henry I. And Thomas de Beauchamp, in the reign of
Edward III., commenced to re-erect the choir ; whilst
his son, also Thomas, who succeeded him, completed
the rebuilding of the whole church in 1394. This
undertaking had been necessitated by the damage the
building had received from fire during the reign of
Stephen. The work was completed at the end of the
fourteenth century ; and the chapel of Our Lady, now
generally known as the Beauchamp Chapel, was added
during the middle part of the fifteenth century.

Just three hundred years after Thomas de Beauchamp
had finished the rebuilding of the church it was once
more almost entirely destroyed by a most disastrous
fire, which broke out near the west gate of the town
on the 5th of September, 1694, and eventually
destroyed the greater part of Warwick. In terrible
alarm many of the inhabitants removed their furniture
and belongings to St. Mary's for safety, and it is
generally supposed that some articles amongst the
number must have been partially burnt and smoulder-
ing, as the church took fire from the interior, and the
tower, nave, and transepts were completely burnt out,
and the shell so damaged as to necessitate the remains
being pulled down.

Almost immediately a subscription was set on foot
for relief of the distressed inhabitants and the rebuild-
ing of the church, with the exception of the eastern
portion, which fortunately had been saved. The work
was entrusted to Sir William Wilson, of Sutton Coal-

57 8

Warwickshire

field ; and seen from a distance the church and tower
present an imposing and indeed pleasing appearance ;
but architectural students on nearer inspection find
their sense of congruity disturbed by the medley of the
Gothic and Classic styles which are embodied in the
design.

The tower is 1 30 feet to the top of the battlements,
and 44 feet additional height is gained by the crocketted
pinnacles, which are eight in number. In it are hung
ten bells, the first nine having been cast during the
years 1700 to 1710, and the tenth bell in 1814. The
chimes every four hours play a tune, which is changed
at midnight of each day. On Sundays, the Easter
Hymn ; on Mondays, Home, Sweet Home ; Tuesdays,
Jenny Lind ; Wednesdays, The Blue Bells of Scotland ;
Thursdays, There's nae luck aboot the Hoose ; Fridays,
Life let us cherish ; Saturdays, Warwickshire Lads and
Lasses.

The present church, which consists of a chancel, nave
with aisles, transepts, and a western tower, and the
chapter-house on the north and the Beauchamp Chapel
to the south of the chancel, presents a somewhat incon-
gruous appearance owing to a reckless mixture of
designs both inside and out. The interior, which has
no special features of note, contains, however, a large
number of eighteenth-century marble monuments of
considerable interest, though unpretentious in char-
acter.

At the west end of the church is a bust of Walter
Savage Landor the poet, who was born at Warwick on

St. Mary's Church

January 30, 1775, in the old-fashioned house just below
East Gate, and died at Florence on September 1 7, 1 8 64.

In the north transept, on the east side, near the door,
is an interesting mural brass of the sixteenth century,
with effigies of Thomas Oken and his wife Joan. The
inscription, which is a quaint one, runs thus, " Of your
charyte give thanks for the soules of Thomas Oken and
Jone and his wyff, on whose soules Jesus hath mercy,
Jesus hath mercy, Amen. Remember the charyte for
the pore for ever. Ao dni : mccccclxxiii."

This Thomas Oken, who was born of poor parents
in the town, became very wealthy, and left estates of
very considerable value for the endowment of local and
educational charities.

On the north side of the entrance to the Beauchamp
Chapel is a marble slab, on which are the incised brass
effigies of the second Earl of Warwick, Thomas Beau-
champ, and his Countess Margaret, who died in 1401
and 1406 respectively. The monument is an interesting
one, as the effigies show the Earl clad in full armour,
with his feet resting on a bear, whilst the Countess
wears a low-bodied gown, over which is a long mantle-
like garment fastened at the breast ; on her head is a
cap with her hair falling in long ringlets on to her
shoulders ; at her feet is a dog, wearing a collar of bells.
This brass, which is valuable to students of costume
and archaeologists alike, was originally fixed to the
upper portion of a high tomb, which stood at the
eastern end of the aisle, and was destroyed in the Great
Fire of 1694.

59

Warwickshire

The chancel or choir is generally supposed to have
been erected by the second Thomas Beauchamp about
1392. The style of the east window, however, and the
panel-work of the exterior of the east wall makes it
probable that these portions were at all events altered
from their original state by Richard Beauchamp, the
builder of the adjoining chapel.

On the north side of the altar is an interesting and
originally groined recess, faced with three arches, which
in all probability was used as " The Holy Sepulchre "
during Passion Week in the olden times.

At St. Mary's, Warwick, prior to the Reformation,
the host and crucifix were borne in procession on
Good Friday through the church to the north side of
the chancel, after which they were deposited in the
sepulchre, the door was then shut, and on that and the
following night was watched by persons specially chosen
for the purpose : in imitation, of course, of the soldiers
set to guard the body of Christ. Early on Easter
morning the host and crucifix were removed with great
ceremonial, the priest pronouncing the words, " Surrexit,
non est hie."

The reredos is modern, as are also the carved oak
stalls. In the middle of the choir is a high tomb, with
the recumbent effigies of the first Thomas Beauchamp,
Earl of Warwick, and founder of the choir, who died in
1369, with his Countess Catherine, who was a daughter
of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. The tomb is a
very elaborate one, and around it are thirty-six niches,
each one containing a figure supposed to represent a

60

Fulke Greville's Tragic End

connection or descendant of the house of Beauchamp ;
the panels beneath the niches containing small shields
with coats-of-arms, now, alas ! greatly defaced.

Although Queen Elizabeth is said to have buried
this nobleman with great solemnity, apparently her
generosity extended no further, for no monument or
inscription marks the spot.

The former chapter-house now serves the purpose
of a mausoleum, the inner side of it being rectangular
and the outer semi-hexagonal. Around the sides are
nine stone seats, placed under recessed canopies. In the
centre is a large and heavy-looking tomb of the famous
Fulke Greville, the first Lord Brooke, who died at the
age of seventy-four on September 30, 1628. Round
the edge of the upper slab is the following somewhat
strange inscription, " Fulke Grevill, servant to Qvenne
Elizabeth, conceller to King lames, and frend to Sir
Phillip Sydney. Trophaevm peccati (a trophy of
sin)."

Fulke Greville's death was an exceedingly tragic
one, and occurred in the following manner. Having
omitted to reward one of his old servants named
Hayward, who had spent a long period in his service,
and being expostulated with for the omission, he was
stabbed in the back by Hayward in his bedroom at
Brooke House, London, which stood near the present
Brooke Street, on September 30, 1628. The murderer,
apparently struck with remorse, left his master bleed-
ing to death, and going into another room locked the
door and stabbed himself in the stomach with a sword.

61

Warwickshire

The crypt of St. Mary's is interesting from the fact
that three of the four pillars which divided it longi-
tudinally are undoubtedly the remains of the ancient
church of Roger de Newburgh, which was erected early
in the twelfth century ; the remaining pillar is in the
Decorated style of the fourteenth century, and is
probably part of the work of Thomas de Beauchamp.

A portion of the old town cucking stool, used in
former times for the ducking in a horse pond of dis-
orderly women and scolds, is now preserved in the
crypt.

The architectural gem of St. Mary's Church is
undoubtedly the Chapel of Our Lady, generally known
as the Beauchamp Chapel, which is one of the finest
buildings of its kind in the kingdom, and was founded
under the will of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
as a mortuary for himself, and was commenced in 1443,
but although completed twenty-one years later was not
consecrated until 1475.

An imme*nse sum, amounting to £2481 .'4:7, was
spent upon the chapel and the tomb of Richard
Beauchamp. Estimates place the sum spent upon
this beautiful memorial at thirty-five to forty thousand
pounds in the money value of the present day. The
building is one of the most magnificent and pleasing
examples of the Decorated Gothic style ; the exterior
enrichments, consisting of delicate tracery, panels, and
other decorative adornments, present a most interesting
and rich appearance. Elegant buttresses with pinnacle
terminations support the walls, and on the south are

62

The de Beauchamp Chapel

three fine six-light windows of beautiful design. The
eastern gable contains a canopied niche, in which are
figures of the Virgin Mary with the child Christ, and
on either side of her representations of Simeon and
Anna the Prophetess.

The chapel is entered by a doorway situated in the
south transept of the church, the hollow moulding of
which doorway represents foliage and the ragged staff,
which is the cognisance of the Beauchamps, and above
this is to be seen the Arms of the family on a shield,
supported on either side by the bear and ragged staff.

The interior of the chapel is exceedingly rich ; the
windows are imposing ones, filled with good stained-
glass, and beneath them are canopied niches. The
ceiling is nearly flat, as is also that of the chancel of the
church ; it has groined ribs resembling net-work.

The stalls, situated on each side of the chapel, are
of carved oak, the arms being in the form of bears,
griffins, and lions with standards having carved finials.
The altar-piece, which is in low relief, represents the
Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, and is by Collins of
Warwick, who executed the work from a design by
Lightoler in 1735. ^ '1S perhaps unfortunate that the
altar-piece does not harmonise with the architectural
scheme of the chapel, although the work is good ; but
the canopy above is of quite indifferent merit.

There are four monumental tombs of great anti-
quarian and artistic value : the centre one that of the
founder, Richard Beauchamp, and the one next to it on
the western side the tomb of Ambrose Dudley, known

63

Warwickshire

as the good Earl of Warwick. Against the northern
wall is a fine monument to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester, the favourite of Elizabeth, and his Countess.
The recumbent figures of the Earl and his wife are
coloured, and placed on a tomb in front ; whilst against
the southern wall is the monument of " that noble impe,
the young Lord Denbigh, their infant son and heir."
These monuments, which represent a period of some
hundred and fifty years, are not only interesting from a
historical point of view, but more especially to students
as representing the changes which took place in the
fashion of sepulchral monuments during that period.
A record exists that during the Civil War in 1642 the
Parliamentary forces, under the leadership of Colonel
Purefoy, " did break into the chapel and beat down and
deface these monuments of antiquity." But it seems
probable that their depredations were chiefly confined to
the pulling down of the altar, as none of the tombs
show signs of having been seriously damaged.

The great tomb of Richard Beauchamp, which
represents such an excellent example of the art of the
period, is constructed of grey Purbeck marble, with its
sides divided in five compartments ; each of the latter
holding a large canopied niche, referred to in the con-
tract as a " principall housing." There is a similar niche
above, and these divisions are flanked by sunk panel-
work, the decorative part of which is beautifully carved.
Underneath each of the principal niches is a carved
quatrefoil within a square, bearing a shield charged
with armorial bearings enamelled on copper. The

64

GUVS Cl.IFKK Mil. I..

Tomb of Richard Beauchamp

principal niches, numbering fourteen, contain a like
number of images, called " weepers and mourners " ;
these are made of latten, a variety of brass, and are
gilded; Of these figures seven are males and seven
females, and they represent persons of rank who were
connected either by blood or marriage to Earl Richard.
The small niches, which number eighteen, contain
images or angels cast in the same metal, which was
generally used for sepulchral brasses and metal orna-
ments of tombs, and these also are richly gilt. They
bear scrolls in their hands on which are engraved the
following words, " &it J9eo iLaus et Gloria, ©efunctis

JHtSeriCOrllta/' The metal-work of this magnificent
tomb was carried out by one William Austen,
citizen and brass -founder of London, who agreed
to "cast and make an image of a man armed, of
fine latten, garnished with certain ornaments, to wit
with sword and dagger, with a garter, with a helme
and crest under his head, and at his feet a bear musled,
and a griffon perfectly made of the finest latten,
according to pattern and layde on the tombe." He
also agreed to supply and erect a " hearse." This
hearse was an open metal canopy of bars and hoops,
shaped very much like the rest used in hospitals to
prevent the weight of the bedclothes troubling the
patient, over which a pall was thrown, and that on the
Earl's tomb is one of the very few now remaining
intact.

This beautiful memorial is fortunately almost as
perfect as the day on which it was erected, more than

65 9

Warwickshire

four hundred years ago. On the moulded verge of
the tomb runs a long English inscription in raised
black letter characters, with the bear and ragged staff
intermixed, setting forth how the deceased had been
buried, when and where he had died, and his titles and
accomplishments, and relating how his "bodye with
great deliberacon and ful worshipful conduit bi see
and by lond was broght to Warrewik the iiii day of
October the yer aboueseid, and was leide with ful solenne
exequies in a feir cheste made of stone in this Chirche
afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last
will and Testament, therin to reste til this Chapel by
him devised i' his lief were made."

It is in St. Mary's Church that the Warwick doles of
bread are distributed on Sunday mornings, irrespective
of creed, by the parish sexton. The doles, which were
instituted by Joseph Blissett in 1713, and a Mrs.
Johnson and Mrs. Smith about the same date, consist
of thirty- two loaves, eight threepenny and twenty-four
twopenny, — the former for the married, the latter for
bachelors, spinsters, widows, and widowers. The pro-
viding source is derived from rent charges on houses in
High Street and Church Street.

The only other church of interest in Warwick is
that of St. Nicholas, situated almost opposite to
the entrance of the castle. The date of its foundation
is not known with accuracy, but it would appear to
have been prior to the Norman Conquest. The
present building, which consists of a tower, spire, nave
with aisles, and chancel, was erected in 1780 upon the

66

Traditional Guy of Warwick

site of an ancient church. According to one authority
the chancel was in ancient times the choir to the House
of Nuns, destroyed by Canute the Dane about 1016,
but afterwards restored.

Very little can be said for the present erection, which
is a very poor specimen of architecture, and is only of
interest in that it contains some interesting seventeenth-
century monuments of the Stoughton family, and an
excellent specimen of a brass with effigy of Robert
Willardsey, first vicar, who died in 1424.

Once a walled town of great strength, of these
ramparts scarcely any traces now remain with the
exception of those immediately adjoining the east and
west gateways. Warwick of to-day, with its country
town life and its race-course, seems to have little in
common, other than the survival of interesting buildings
and its magnificent castle, with those ancient times in
which the cry of " A Warwick ! a Warwick ! " often
raised in battle and feud, struck terror into the hearts
of those who heard it.

A little more than a mile to the north of Warwick,
on the Coventry Road, stands the famous Guy's Cliff,
now the seat of the Percy family, beautifully situated
amongst a wealth of trees overlooking a fine stretch of
the Avon. Anciently, and up to the reign of Henry
IV., the place was known as Gibbeclyve, and the name
it bears at the present day would appear to have been
given it in memory of the redoubtable Guy of Warwick,
whose somewhat mythical exploits caused him to take
a high place as a popular hero during the Middle Ages.

6?

Warwickshire

Unfortunately for those to whom these legendary
tales appeal strongly, there are no mention of Guy's
exploits in any authentic Chronicle or records of ancient
times.

Tradition, however, states that in the last years of
the fifth or the first years of the sixth century St.
Dubritius, who subsequently became Bishop of Landaff
and afterwards Archbishop of Wales, founded an
oratory here, in which long afterwards a devout hermit
dwelt. The spot remained thus, only distinguished by
a hermit's dwelling, until the reign of Henry V., who
whilst on a visit to Warwick Castle came to see Guy's
Cliff, and decided there to found a chantry for two
priests.

An interesting fact in connection with this chantry
is that John Rous, the Warwickshire antiquarian and
historian, was once a priest here. At the Dissolution
of the Monasteries and Religious Orders the property
was granted to one Sir Andrew Flammock, knight,
whose daughter and heiress married John Colburne
in 1579, who obtained a grant of the chapel from
Queen Elizabeth. The property has since then passed
through many hands, and from a family named Great-
heed passed into that of Lord Percy in the spring of
1891, through the marriage of a descendant of the
Greatheeds with the honourable Charles Bertie Percy.

The house is one of the most picturesquely situated
in Warwickshire, and is built on a sandstone cliff over-
hanging the river, which widens into a large pool or
lake in front. The mansion itself has very ordinary

68

" The Cave of Despair "

architectural features, but it contains many interesting
pictures and curios.

One picture possesses a romantic interest from the
fact that it was painted by Mr. Bertie Greatheed, and is
of such a horrifying character that it is hidden from
ordinary view by doors specially constructed in front
of it. This painting, which is known as " The Cave
of Despair," represents the scene described by Spenser
in his Fterie Qeene, Book I. Canto ix. The weird
ghastly figure of Despair nearly nude, with clasped
hands, unkempt hair, and deeply sunk eyes, sits in
the centre of the cave, staring out abstractedly at the
spectator. A stabbed corpse, with up-turned eyes and
an agonised expression of face, lies on the left ; whilst
on the right is a Red Cross knight, typical of resolution
under awe-inspiring circumstances. Behind him is the
terror-stricken face of another spectator. This picture,
apart from its gruesome realism and subject, is of
considerable artistic merit, and is certainly one to
" haunt " those who have been fortunate or unfortunate
enough to see it.

There are a number of other pictures by the same
artist. One of the most interesting of these pictures is
a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, which tradition says
was painted from a sketch made on the artist's thumb
nail during a personal audience.

It was here at Guy's Cliff, when a young girl of
seventeen, in the autumn of 1772 and early part of
1773, that Sarah Kemble, afterwards to become famous
as Mrs. Siddons, stayed as a companion.

69

CHAPTER IV

THE STORY OF WARWICK CASTLE

THE history of Warwick Castle and the town are in
a measure one, and may be considered to have com-
menced in 914, when tradition avers that ^Ethelflaed,
daughter of Alfred the Great and lady of Mercia,
built a castle here, of which, although almost every
other trace has long since disappeared, the mound may
still be seen upon which the original works were placed.
This same jiEthelflaed was one of the most prolific
originators of fortifications in the Midlands, and was
responsible for those at Tamworth and at Stafford
amongst others. Some authorities are inclined to
think that JEthelflaed's efforts as regards Warwick
Castle were merely of the nature of adding to and
strengthening already existing fortifications, which had
their origin in the earth-works of the time of St.
Dubritius. But whatever may be the exact truth
there remains no possible doubt that the Mercian
princess was largely responsible for the construction of
the great mound which, still bearing her name, stands
at the northern end of the castle.

70

Warwick Castle

Early in its history the castle was the scene of many
stirring episodes connected with the struggles of the
Conqueror's immediate successors, and the long wars
which were waged between the King and the Barons. In
the reign of King Stephen, Gundreth, widow of Roger
de Newburgh, whose family held the title of Earl of
Warwick, drove the King's soldiers from the castle and
surrendered the latter to Henry, Duke of Normandy,
who afterwards became Henry II. A little later, during
the Wars of the Barons, Sir John Gifford, governor of
Kenilworth, surprised the castle of Warwick and carried
off William de Mauduit, then Earl of Warwick, and his
lady, — the title having at this period passed to the De
Mauduits through the family of De Plessitis. The
then Earl of Warwick had taken the part of the King
against the Barons, and in consequence when the
castle was captured the walls were destroyed, although
the towers were left standing.

The restoration of the castle must have proceeded
rapidly, for we find two years later Henry III. made it
his headquarters whilst he was gathering his forces
together with which to besiege Kenilworth, at that
time held for the Barons. In the following reign
the fortifications of the castle were repaired and
strengthened by the famous Guy de Beauchamp, " the
black dog of Arden," and in the reign of Edward II.,
in 1312, Piers Gaveston, the Gascon pretender, was
brought a prisoner to Warwick, and tried by torch-
light in the great hall of the castle, and notwithstand-
ing frenzied entreaties was condemned to death in the

71

Warwickshire

presence of the " black dog of Arden " and the
Earls of Gloucester, Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel.
Short shrift was the custom in those days, and on
the following morning Gaveston was taken to Blacklow
Hill, just outside the town, and there executed. An
old account of the event states that his head rolled
off down the hill into a thicket, where it was picked
up by a missionary friar, who, tradition asserts, carried
the horrid burden away in his hood. The body of
Gaveston was first buried by the friars in their church
at Oxford, and it was afterwards exhumed and buried
by the King in the then new church at Langley with
some pomp.

By a strange change of fortune the fortress that
had for a short time confined Edward's favourite,
Piers Gaveston, two years later, on the death of Guy de
Beauchamp, was handed over into the custody of the
King's new favourite, Hugh le Despenser, who after-
wards in 1326 entertained Edward II. at Warwick.

It was not until the following reign that the outer
walls, with some of the towers, including the magnificent
piece of military architectural construction known as
Caesar's Tower, were erected by Thomas de Beauchamp,
whose son, also Thomas, built the tower, which was
called Guy's Tower after the traditional warrior of
Warwick.

The castle has seen the coming and going of many
royal guests, and in 1417 its then onwer, Richard de
Beauchamp, the founder of the beautiful Beauchamp
Chapel in St. Mary's Church, welcomed Henry V. with

72

1'KKIMNC; TOM, COVENTRY.

The King Maker

a state which was magnificent even for the Middle Ages.
On the death of Richard de Beauchamp the title and
estates passed into the possession of Richard Neville,
who, by his marriage with Ann, daughter of Robert
de Beauchamp, was by descent also Earl of Salisbury.
This man was destined to go down in history under
the title of the King Maker. He it was who captured
Edward IV. at Wolvey, some ten miles to the north-
east of Coventry, and brought him in 1469 as a prisoner
to Warwick ; afterwards removing him to Middleham
in Yorkshire, another of his possessions.

Richard III. stayed at Warwick in 1583, soon after
his murder of Edward V. in the Tower of London.
The castle afterwards came into possession of the
Crown, and it was not until the reign of Edward VI.
that it was granted to the Dudley family.

Queen Elizabeth was entertained on two occasions
at the castle, in 1572 and in 1575, by Ambrose, known
as the " Good " Earl of Dudley, whose tomb is in the
Beauchamp Chapel of St. Mary's Church. There is
also a tradition that Amy Robsart was once for a time
a guest at Warwick.

The castle on the death of Ambrose Dudley once
more came into possession of the Crown, and remained
so until 1605, when King James I. granted it to Sir
Fulke Greville, who found the building fallen into a
considerable state of ruin.

In 1621 Greville was created Baron Brooke, and a
hundred and twenty-five years later Francis, the eighth
baron, was made an earl. It is said that Sir Fulke

73 10

Warwickshire

Greville spent the then enormous sum of £30,000 in
repairing and fitting up the castle, and he must also
have incurred enormous expenses by his entertainment
of James I. on four different occasions, namely, in the
years 1617, 1619, 1621, and 1624.

On the first occasion on which the King visited
Warwick he partook of a banquet in the Hall of
Leicester's Hospital, which event is commemorated by
the following inscription, placed in that building : —

"MEMORANDUM THAT KING JAMES i. WAS RIGHT
NOBLY ENTERTAINED AT A SUPPER IN THIS HALL
BY THE HONOURABLE SIR FULK GREVILLE, CHAN-
CELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER, AND ONE OF HIS
MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL,
UPON THE FOURTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER ANNO DOM.
1617. GOD SAVE THE KING."

During the Civil Wars Robert Greville (Lord
Brooke), Sir Fulke's successor, espoused the Parlia-
mentary cause, and the castle and inhabitants of War-
wick heard, in consequence, more than an echo of those
stirring times. In 1642 the place was besieged by the
Royalists' troops under the Earl of Northampton, in the
absence of Lord Brooke. It was, however, vigorously
defended by Sir Edward Peyto, who was left in charge.
In the end, notwithstanding the fierce attack of the
Royalists, after the siege had been sustained for a
period of fourteen days, it was raised by Lord Brooke,
who had defeated some of the Earl of Northampton's
troops at Southam, in the southern portion of Warwick-
shire.

74

Warwick Castle

Since those days the castle has remained the peaceful
residence of the Greville family, who, in 1759, became
Earls of Warwick on the extinction of the Rich family
— who, till that date, possessed the title, although they
were in no way connected with the old possessors of it,
nor at any time owners of its estates.

The castle, which is situated at the south-east end
of the town, quite close to the splendid bridge spanning
the Avon, which many years ago replaced the old
one, the ruins of which are about a quarter of a mile
nearer the castle, stands on a fine rocky promontory of
hard sandstone, of which material the castle itself is
built. It has stood throughout the ages preserved
in a truly wonderful manner.

Within the confines of the castle ramparts are
pleasure-grounds of great beauty, and although nowa-
days the houses of the town approach the walls more
nearly than in ancient times, they can detract little or
nothing from the grandly beautiful building itself.

The main entrance is by the gatehouse, which
stands nearly opposite to the church of St. Nicholas.
It was constructed in the first year of the nineteenth
century on the site of an Elizabethan house, which
belonged to an old Warwick family. In former times
there were two other approaches to the castle — one
situated on the north side at the end of Castle Street,
and the other at the bottom of Mill Street, traces of
which are still discernible. This drive leads to the outer
court, which is known as the Vineyard, a title preserved
since the fifteenth century, when vines really grew

75

Warwickshire

there in such numbers as to justify the employment
of women for the purpose of gathering in the harvest
of grapes.

The gateway, which was constructed in the four-
teenth century, was approached in ancient times by a
drawbridge spanning the moat. It is on the inner side
of this that the barbican stands, rising to the height of
two stories above the archway and projecting from the
wall. On either side are two octagonal turrets, freely
loopholed for the purpose of defending the bridge and
its approaches from attack. Within the drawbridge
itself hangs the portcullis, and behind this in the ceiling
are four holes through which blazing pitch, hot lead,
or other equally unpleasant and destructive materials
could be poured on the heads of assailants. In the
rear of the portcullis itself stood the ancient and iron-
strengthened doors. Even though the attacking party
should have found its way through both portcullis and
doors into the small court beyond, they would be still
subject to a most murderous attack, and be almost
entirely at the mercy of the defenders above ; and
even though surviving this they would still have to
pass the gatehouse, with a groined archway defended by
a portcullis, loopholes, and doors like the barbican itself.

The gatehouse is flanked by towers, from the
summits of which the defenders could pour down a
shower of missiles upon the attacking party still within
the court. In the lower chamber of the south-east
turret still exists the windlass which in ancient times
worked the portcullis of the outer gate.

,6

Clarence and Bear Towers

At the point where the road enters the inner court
a fine view of the castle is obtained, with jEthelflaed's
mound or the keep, crowned with trees and shrubs,
and crossed by the fortifications in which the northern
tower stands, the dominating feature.

On the side of the fortifications, opposite the castle,
stand the two impressive though never completed
towers known as the Clarence and Bear Towers, con-
nected by walls of great thickness and solidity. The
first-named was probably commenced by George, Duke
of Clarence, brother of Richard III., who, created Earl
of Warwick by Edward IV., projected vast additions
to the castle, which he did not live to carry out ; and
the second tower by Richard himself. Opposite these
two towers, extending along the whole river front from
Caesar's Tower to the Hill Tower, which stands at the
base of JEthelflaed's mound, is the family mansion,
which, although altered and enlarged at various times
since feudal days, is still a wonderful erection, almost
entirely in keeping with the general aspect of the
castle.

In 1770 the entrance porch and the adjoining
dining-room, with the rooms over it in front of the
great hall, were built by the then Earl of Warwick.
The apartments, including the state bedroom and the
boudoir and those adjoining the eastern end of the
great hall, were in all probability the work of Sir Fulke
Greville about 1 605, who at the same time considerably
altered several other parts of the castle.

The ancient fireplace and the dais were situated

77

Warwickshire

at the west end of the hall, and some traces of the
former were discovered at the time of the fire, the
chimney still being visible in the south-west angle.
Two doorways, now blocked up, originally led to the
kitchen and pantry.

The remaining most noticeable features of this, in
many respects, unique hall are its large modern recessed
windows and the fine oak panelling of the walls, which
reaches to a height of about nine feet. The floor is of
white and red marble, brought from the neighbourhood
of Verona, and the remarkable carved stone mantelpiece
was brought from Rome to replace the one destroyed
in the fire.

One of the most interesting relics of bygone days
amongst the many which are preserved in the castle is
the garrison cooking-pot, a remarkably fine cauldron
made of bell-metal, and capable of containing over a
hundred gallons. This vessel is popularly known as
" Guy's porridge pot," and was probably made for the
retainers of Sir John Talbot of Swanington, who died
about 1365, for there is an old couplet quoted by
Nichols in his History of Leicestershire running as
follows : —

There is nothing left of Talbot's name,
But Talbot's pot and Talbot's Lane.

It is difficult to say how or when the pot was first
brought to Warwick Castle, but it seems probable that
it came into the family through the marriage of
Margaret, daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, with
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, from whom the

78

Interesting Relics

Dudleys, Viscounts Lisle — afterwards created Earls of
Warwick — were descended.

Amongst the many interesting relics which are to
be found in this magnificent feudal hall — interesting
alike to the archaeologist and to the casual observer,
because of their romantic associations — are a helmet of
Oliver Cromwell ; breastplate and morion of the Lord
Brooke, who was killed in 1643 at the siege of
Lichfield ; a fine example of a " double-plated " tilting
suit ; a suit of armour said to have belonged to Charles
Graham, Marquis of Montrose ; the mace of the King
Maker, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ; and a tiny
suit of armour which belonged to Robert, son of the
Earl of Leicester, who is traditionally, but probably
incorrectly, said to have been poisoned by his nurse
between the age of three and four years ; a very interest-
ing square and painted shield of the reign of Edward
IV. ; and a krge number of other arms.

A fine vista through the whole of the State apart-
ments is obtainable from the hall, the length of which
suite is upwards of 320 feet. From the great hall the
Red Drawing-Room — so called because of the colour of
its wainscotted panelling — is reached ; it is a handsome
chamber, measuring some 30 feet by 19^ feet, with a
ceiling of white and gold.

Warwick Castle, as all the world knows, contains
an almost unrivalled collection of pictures, the richest
treasures of which are by Rubens, Van Dyck, Raphael, and
Rembrandt.

In the Cedar Drawing-Room, which possesses deep-

79

Warwickshire

set windows, and takes its name from the wood with
which it is panelled, is some of the finest carving in the
castle, and also some of the best works of Van Dyck.
Indeed it would be difficult to find gathered together
in one room more excellent examples of this master's
work.

Amongst the most noticeable of the pictures are
portraits of James Graham, Marquis of Montrose ; and
the composite full length picture of Queen Henrietta
Maria, the bust of which was painted by Van Dyck,
and the remainder by Sir Joshua Reynolds. There is
also a half-length picture of Charles I. by Van Dyck ;
two pictures of frail beauties of the Court of Charles
II. by Lely ; and a good portrait of Sarah, Countess of
Warwick, who died in 1851, by Bonelli.

Among the many other exquisite objects cTart
which here have an adequate setting is a beautiful table
of Florentine mosaic from Grimani Palace, Venice,
ornamented in precious stones, such as lapis - lazuli,
cornelians, chalcedony, jaspar, and variegated agates, with
the arms and honours of the family. Two beautiful
early Italian marriage chests also find a place in this
apartment, the treasures of which connoisseurs recognise
as almost priceless.

Although the Gilt or Green Drawing- Room is of less
magnificent proportions, it is notable for its fine plaster
ceiling and the graceful and appropriate ornamentation
of the walls ; the wainscotting of which in one place
masks a secret passage and staircase, used in former
days as a means of escape and also for communication

go

PALACE YARD, COVENTRY.

Queen Anne's Bed

with the floor below. In this chamber are some of the
greatest art treasures of the castle, including three oval
portraits of the sons of Robert, Lord Brooke, who was
killed during the Civil War ; a fine half-length Van
Dyck of the Earl of StrafFord in armour ; a Charles II. ;
a cavalier in armour, with red scarf and baton, by Van
Dyck ; a charming " Portrait of a Lady," by Lely ;
and a notable Rubens, a portrait of Ignatius Loyola,
founder of the Order of Jesuits, clad in a scarlet
chasuble. This latter picture was originally painted
for the Jesuit College at Antwerp, and found its way
to England at the time of the French Revolution, when
it was purchased by the second Earl of Warwick.
There is also an excellent Cornelis Janssens, Robert
Bertie, Earl of Lindsey, who commanded the Royal
forces at the battle of Edgehill, where he was mortally
wounded and taken prisoner by the Parliamentarians.
And a couple of good examples of the work of Dahl ;
William, Lord Brooke and Mary, Lady Brooke.

Out of this interesting chamber opens the State
Bedroom, from the casements of which are some of
the most exquisite views seen from the castle. Below
these windows the ancient cedars spread out feathery
branches, and the river flows tranquilly by, till it ripples
over the Weir, bordered in many places by magnificent
elms centuries old. The " State bed," which is of
salmon-coloured damask, with coverings of satin richly
embroidered with crimson velvet, was formerly the
property of Queen Anne, as was also much of the
furniture. It was given to the second Earl of Warwick

81 ii

Warwickshire

by King George III. In the room is a magnificent
piece of tapestry, depicting the garden of a medieval
palace, thought to be Versailles, which was made in
Brussels in the early years of the seventeenth century ;
whilst another interesting relic is the leather-covered
travelling trunk of Queen Anne,on which are her initials
" A. R." under a crown.

The Boudoir itself, a comparatively small and rather
narrow room, is, however, made charming by reason of
the magnificent views of the river and park which are
obtained from its windows. In it are hung some fine
examples of the work of Rubens, Holbein the younger,
and Lely, as well as a good Teniers.

The Armoury passage, a narrow corridor running
at the back of the gilt drawing-room, State bedroom,
and boudoir, and connecting the latter and the com-
pass room, contains one of the finest private collections
of medieval armour and weapons in England, as well
as quite a number of portraits by Van Dyck, Sir G.
Hayter, and others of inferior merit. Amongst the
former is a portrait of Christ, said to be one of several
painted from a likeness engraved on an emerald pre-
sented to Pope Innocent VIII. by the Grand Turk.
Amongst the examples of armour are battle-axes, cross-
bows, calivers, pikes, arquebuses, daggers, swords, etc.
of almost every period of the Middle Ages ; and a fine
and almost unique suit of chain-mail, of which each
link has its separate rivet.

The Compass Room is a small polygonal ante-
chamber communicating with the gilt room. The

82

Pictures and Portraits

principal window contains painted Flemish glass of
considerable merit. In this room are some magnificent
pictures, including Murillo's famous " Laughing Boy,"
and a saint by the same artist ; a fine head of an old man
by Rubens ; a Bacchanalian Group, by the same ; a good
portrait of Maximilian, the first Emperor of Germany,
and his sister, by Lucas Cranach ; and the two scriptural
pictures, St. Paul Lighting a Fire (Isle of Melita), and
St. Paul Shaking off the Viper, both by Rubens.

The chapel has a beautiful window of old painted
glass, given by the Earl of Essex in the middle of the
eighteenth century ; and in the west window is a head-
less statuette of a Palmer, thought to be a representa-
tion of Guy, Earl of Warwick, in pilgrim's garb.

In the Great Dining-Room, built by Francis, first
Earl of Warwick, about the year 1770, are hung some
fine pictures, including the famous equestrian portrait
of Charles I. by Van Dyck.

The library, which was unhappily destroyed by the
fire of 1871, was restored from designs of Mr. G. Fox.
The ceiling is panelled and gilded, and there is some
beautiful Italian work in the sides of the doors, and
a Venetian hooded-marble chimney-piece is of most
graceful design.

The Shakespeare room, originally a laundry, which
adjoins Cassar's Tower, contains, as its name implies,
the unique collection of Shakespearian memorials.
There are good portraits of Queen Elizabeth ; Robert
Earl of Leicester ; John Locke the historian ; Oliver
Cromwell ; Sir Philip Sidney ; and a Shakespeare

83

Warwickshire

supposed to be by Cornells Janssens. The room also
contains a magnificent piece of furniture, known as the
Kenilworth Buffet, which was constructed out of an
oak tree formerly growing in the grounds of Kenilworth
Castle. The central panel depicts " Queen Elizabeth's
entry into Kenilworth Castle ; and the other panels
scenes from Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth^
with figures of Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir
Walter Raleigh, and Sir Francis Drake. The Buffet
was presented to the Earl and Countess of Warwick on
their marriage.

Amongst the treasures relating to Shakespeare are
the only known MSS. of his plays written before the
close of the seventeenth century. The first of these,
which is supposed to have been written about the year
1610, is "The History of King Henry IV.," the two
parts in one, and consists of fifty-six leaves. It is
generally believed to be in the handwriting of Sir
Edward Bearing, of Surrenden, Kent, and to have been
transcribed by him from some other MS. since lost,
as no printed copy is extant containing the various
corrections and alterations shown in this MS.

There is also a volume of MS. poetical pieces,
including a copy of "Julius Caesar," transcribed in
the reign of Charles II. This play, it is clear from
the enormous variations from all printed editions,
must have been transcribed from some independent
version, and it seems more than probable from an
ancient playhouse copy.

In addition to these notable MSS. there are a fine

84

Caesar's Tower

copy of the folio edition of 1623 ; a "Hamlet," 1607,
1637, 1676 ; the second part of "King Henry VI.,"
1619; "King Lear," of 1608; "The Merchant of
Venice," of 1600 ; as well as a " Romeo and Juliet,"
1599 ; and a very interesting collection of wardrobe
and property bills of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,
dating from 1713 to 1716.

Of great interest outside the more domestic portion
of the castle is Caesar's Tower, in the dungeons of
which so many persons during past ages must have
been confined, some of them doubtless never to be
released save to go to execution. The dungeon —
on the walls of which are rudely scratched inscriptions,
drawings of bows and arrows, crucifixes, and coats-of-
arms — is a strong, stone- vaulted chamber 17 feet by
13 feet and 14 feet 6 inches high. The roof is groined
in two bays, and on the south side is a plain semicircular
opening, admitting a beam of light from a deeply splayed
window about 6 inches wide. On the same side of
the dungeon is a passage cut off from the prison by
an iron grating, so as to prevent access.

From the top of Guy's Tower, which is reached
by a staircase of one hundred and thirty-three steps,
there is a fine general view of the castle itself, as well
as the wide prospect of the surrounding country
A noticeable feature of the tower is the immense
strength of the vault beneath it, which would apparently
point to the fact that in olden days some heavy engine
for the purpose of slinging stones must have been
placed upon the roof. In the tower there are five

85

Warwickshire

floors, each having a groined roof, and subdivided into
one large and two small rooms, the sides of which in
most cases are pierced with numerous loopholes for
bowmen commanding in all directions the curtains
which the tower was built to protect.

Any mention of Warwick Castle without a reference
to the celebrated Warwick Vase, one of the most
remarkable remains of the art of ancient Greece, would
be incomplete. This fine vase, which was purchased
by the second Earl of Warwick from his uncle Sir
William Hamilton, is not in the castle itself, but in
the conservatory standing in the grounds beyond the
stone bridge spanning the moat, which was built to
replace the ancient drawbridge. The inscription on
the pedestal runs, " This monument of ancient art and
Roman splendour was dug out of the ruins of the
Tiburtine Villa, the favourite retreat of Hadrian
Augustus, that it was restored by the order of Sir
William Hamilton, Ambassador from George III.,
King of Great Britain, to Ferdinand IV., King of Sicily,
who sent it home, and was by him dedicated to the
ancestral or national genius of liberal arts in 1774."

The romantic story of the vase runs as follows.
During some excavations which were being carried out
in the bed of a small lake called Pantinello near Tivoli,
about sixteen miles from Rome, in 1770, the work-
men unearthed the vase. How it came to be at the
bottom of this lake has never been discovered and,
indeed, can even scarcely be conjectured. But in view
of the fact that Hadrian's Villa was, in the year A.D. 546,

86

Warwick Vase

occupied by Totila, King of the Goths, who was
laying siege to Rome at that time, it may be that the
vase was cast into the lake by Adrian's orders to save
it from the invaders.

The villa itself was finished about A.D. 138, but the
vase is undoubtedly of considerably earlier date, and by
some authorities is considered to have been the work
of a Greek artist, Lysippus of Sicyon, who lived at the
close of the fourth century, when a more elegant style
was just replacing the more severe types of art of
Phydias and his school. The vase is circular in form,
5 feet 6 inches high and 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, and
is constructed of white marble. The base or pedestal
on which it stands is modern. The handles of the vase
are formed of vine stems, smaller branches of which run
round the upper lip, and from which depend bunches of
grapes so as to form a frieze. Covering the lower
rim are two tiger and panther skins, of which the heads
and four paws adorn the sides of the vase, the hind legs
interlacing and hanging down between the handles.
The heads of Sileni or male attendants of Bacchus are
arranged along the tiger skins, with one exception of a
female head, probably that of a Bacchante or faun.

With regard to this head, however, some authorities
have held that it is a modern restoration, and represents
Sir William Hamilton's wife Emma — of Nelson fame.
Between the heads are thyrsi or Bacchic rods entwined
with ivy and vine shoots, and litui or augural wands used
in taking omens. The capacity of the vase is more than
one hundred and sixty gallons, and the use to which it

87

Warwickshire

was put or for which it was intended has been the sub-
ject of much speculation.

With the many tragedies and pageants which have
in the dark ages of the pre-Medieval period down to the
golden age of Elizabeth taken place within the enduring
walls of this ancient stronghold, it is impossible to deal
here. But in this ancient feudal castle the student,
artist, and lover of the past will recognise one of the
finest monuments in England of ancient splendour
which yet remains happily largely uninjured by time.
In it we have also an almost unique memorial of
that transition period when the more severe and forbid-
ding features of fortress-dwellings were being slowly
replaced by others of a more domestic if not the
less imposing character.

88

CHAPTER V

COVENTRY: ITS HISTORY, ROMANCE, CHURCHES, AND
ANCIENT BUILDINGS

THE ancient city of Coventry — situated amidst sylvan
scenery of great beauty, should if possible be ap-
proached by the wayfarer from Kenilworth along the
unrivalled avenue which is also the high road — is of
great antiquity and of very considerable interest to the
archaeologist. Seen from a distance, on account of its
many church spires, it presents a wonderfully pictu-
resque appearance ; and with its old-world survivals in
the shape of timbered houses and the exquisite archi-
tecture of its churches, is one of the most interesting
towns of the Midlands.

One derivation of the name is generally supposed
to indicate that it was originally Couentre ; the first
syllable representing a convent, with the addition of the
British affix " tre," meaning a town. Other authorities
appear, however, to think that the name was derived
from Cune, the Celtic name of the River Sherbourne,
on which the town stands, and the affix " tre," as already
explained. At any rate the town is of great antiquity,
and is generally supposed to have been founded by the

12

Warwickshire

Britons, although it is agreed that its history cannot be
traced with any great degree of accuracy prior to about
1016, when, according to Rous the historian, Canute,
King of Denmark, during his invasion of Mercia
amongst other ravages destroyed a nunnery, which at
that period had been founded at Coventry. The same
authority further states that no attempt was made to
restore or rebuild this establishment until about the
middle of the same century, when Leofric, then Earl of
Mercia, and his Countess, the famous Godiva, founded a
Benedictine monastery on a site half a mile to the south
of the original Saxon Nunnery of St. Osburg.

It appears that Leofric not only bestowed upon
the monastery half of the entire town, but also gave to
it in the reign of Edward the Confessor no less than
twenty-four other towns in the county of Warwick and
elsewhere. Leofric's lady, Godiva, also enriched this
foundation with much treasure, searching throughout
the country for " skilful goldsmiths, who, with all the
gold and silver she had, made crosses, images of saints,
and other curious ornaments, which she devoutly dis-
posed thereto."

Leofric died in 1057, and was buried in one of the
porches of the church of the monastery which he had
founded, which ultimately became the Cathedral of the
diocese, a proud position it held until the bishopric
was removed to Lichfield. His Countess survived
him many years, but the date of her death is not re-
corded, although it is known that she was buried in the

same church.

90

Countess Godiva

It was Leofric's Countess Godiva or Godeva around
whom the well - known legend centres. Although
there seems little doubt that it had less foundation
in fact than the romantic desire, it was certainly an
accepted legend and believed by many as embodying an
historical fact in the early part of the reign of Edward
the Confessor.

The first description of this somewhat apocryphal
ride is to be found in the writings of Roger of Wendover,
a chronicler of the beginning of the twelfth century ;
that is to say of a date about one hundred years after
the time when the event is said to have taken place.
The account given by this writer, whose work generally
we are bound to state is open to considerable question
on the score of accuracy, runs as follows : —

The Countess Godiva, who was a great lover of God's
mother, longing to free the town of Coventry from the
oppression of a heavy toll, and even with urgent prayers besought
her husband, with every regard to Jesus Christ and His mother,
he would free the town from that service, and from all other
heavy burdens ; and when the Earl sharply rebuked her for
foolishly asking what was so much to his damage he always
forbade her for evermore to speak to him on the subject ; and
while she, on the other hand, with a woman's pertinacity, never
ceased to exasperate her husband with that matter, he at last
made her this answer —

" Mount your horse and ride naked before all the people,
through the market of the town from one end to the other,
and on your return you shall have your request."

To which Godiva replied : —

"But will you give me permission if I am willing to do it ?"

91

Warwickshire

« I will," said he.

Whereupon the Countess, beloved of God, loosed her hair
and let down her tresses, which covered the whole of her body
like a veil, and then mounting her horse and attended by two
knights she rode through the market-place without being seen,
except her fair legs ; and having completed the journey, she
returned with gladness to her astonished husband, and obtained
of him what she had asked, for Earl Leofric freed the town of
Coventry and its inhabitants from the aforesaid service, and
confirmed what he had done by a charter.

Into this ancient version of the " Godiva legend "
more modern elaborations have been imported. These,
stating nothing of Godiva's garment formed by her own
tresses, record that the people being forewarned of the
Countess's intentions all remained indoors behind closed
shutters, out of respect for her and her desire to serve
them ; and in consequence she rode unobserved except
by one inquisitive tailor, whose Christian name was
Tom. It is he who has been handed down to posterity
and obloquy under the nick-name of " Peeping Tom,"
whose eyes as a punishment for his curiosity and indis-
cretion are said to have either dropped out of his head
or were smitten with blindness !

Unhappily this romantic story, which casts a side-
light upon the manners and morals of those early times,
and also upon the attitude of husbands towards their
wives, is open to grave criticism regarding its authen-
ticity. Indeed, most authorities are inclined to believe
that at all events the part relating to " Peeping Tom "
is of no greater antiquity than the reign of Charles II.,
and that the remainder of the story does not date earlier

92

Legend of Godiva's Ride

than King John, at least one hundred and fifty years
later than the date of Godiva's traditional ride.

That this story of Godiva's self-sacrifice in the
interests of the oppressed inhabitants of Coventry has
very little foundation on actual fact is proved by several
circumstances ; the chief of which are, that other more
trustworthy chroniclers, who, writing at the actual
period when the event is supposed to have taken place,
whilst recording fully the many good actions which the
Earl and Countess undoubtedly did perform, make no
mention of Godiva's ride. Another fact is that the
population of Coventry was so small at that period that
there was scarcely likely to have been in existence a
market of the size suggested by Roger of Wendover,
and, indeed, hardly a town at all through which Godiva
could have ridden. Yet another circumstance is that
with so small a place a mere toll would have been a
matter of such small consequence, when the majority of
the people were serfs, that Leofric would certainly have
remitted it without exacting such a condition from his
wife. There are, indeed, several versions in different
countries of legends closely allied in general detail to
that of Godiva, and it is more than probable that this
particular one is of great antiquity, which became
tacked on to the life of this famous woman without
any real foundation in fact.

The mention of Coventry in the Domesday Book,
which was written nearly thirty years later than Leofric's
death, describes the place, even with its fine monastery,
which Leofric founded, as little more than a small agri-

93

Warwickshire

cultural village, with a population probably of not more
than three hundred to three hundred and fifty souls.
Most of the houses at that far-off period were the
merest hovels, without windows ; whilst nearly all the
adult inhabitants, save the very aged, were engaged in
agricultural occupations.

By the year 1218, when Henry III. granted a charter
for a yearly fair, lasting eight days, Coventry must of
course have grown very considerably ; and it is interest-
ing to know that it was in connection with this fair in
1677, that the legend of Countess Godiva's ride took
form as a pageant and procession, the last of which took
place on August 2, 1892. On that occasion the role
of the self-sacrificing Countess of ancient times was
played by a young lady attired in fleshings and a short
jerkin-like garment of white satin, who also wore a
pair of white kid gloves, a plume, and a flaxen wig !

Sixteen years after the institution of the fair the
Franciscans or Grey Friars founded an establishment in
Coventry ; and their coming was followed about ten
years later by the Carmelites or White Friars ; and in
1381 there was also a settlement of Carthusians near
the south-east gate. Edward III., in 1344, constituted
in the city a Municipal Corporation by letters patent,
and for the better security of Coventry the inhabitants
obtained from the same King permission to levy a toll
towards the expense of fortifying and enclosing the town,
to be commenced twenty-seven years after the grant
was obtained. It appears, however, that the fortifications
were commenced in 1355, and the walls and gates were

94

Richard II.

finished in the time of Richard II. With the walling
in of Coventry the merchants of the period became
enriched, the town flourished and extended, and the
beautiful steeple of St. Michael's Church was designed
and partly finished. In addition to this, the staple
manufacture of clothing was cultivated, and public
buildings of adequate importance began to be con-
structed.

It was just outside the city, on Gosford Green, that
the famous meeting took place in September 1397,
between Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, after-
wards Henry IV., and Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of
Norfolk, to which encounter Shakespeare himself refers
in " King Richard II." The duel, which the King
commanded to be fought on this spot, arose from a
quarrel between the ducal combatants, Hereford having
accused Norfolk of speaking disrespectfully of his
Sovereign. Richard and a great number of the nobility
had gathered in the brilliant sunshine of that September
day on the triangular piece of greensward where two of
the greatest nobles of the realm were to engage in
single combat, the trial by combat of those far-off days.
But just as the champions were about to commence
hostilities Richard suddenly placed his veto upon the
encounter and banished both of the disputants from
England ; Hereford for ten years, and Norfolk for
life.

It was in 1451 that Henry VI. conferred on
Coventry and certain contiguous villages the honour
of being constituted a county of themselves, and the

95

Warwickshire

charter which made this enactment provided that the
bailiffs of the city should be also sheriffs of the county,
and that the same coroner should preside over both.
Edward IV. confirmed the charter, and in the agricul-
tural survey of Warwickshire, it is mentioned that the
county and city of Coventry, situated in the north-
east part of Warwickshire, with " the greatest length
from Bedworth, to a point named Baginton, in a
north-east and south-west direction, is 7^ miles ; and
the greatest breadth, from Nettlehill to Brownshill
Green, in about an east and west direction, is y£
miles."

Exhall, Keresley, Anstey, Foleshill, Stivichall, Stoke,
a part of Sow, and Wyken, are all united with the city
to form the county of Coventry. The Quarter Sessions
were, prior to 1842, held with the same full powers as
counties at large, and the men and aldermen of the city
had considerable privileges as well as being Justices of
the Peace.

It was in the Priory that Henry VI. held a second
Parliament in the year 1459, known to the Yorkists as
the " Parliamentum Diabolicum," this name being given
to the assembly on account of the large number of
attainders which were passed by it against the Yorkists,
including Richard, Duke of York, and the Earls of
March, Salisbury, and Warwick.

Afterwards King Edward IV. and his Queen spent
the Christmas festival in the city in 1465, evidently
with the intention of winning over the citizens to the
Yorkist side ; but it is recorded that even the presence

96

KENILWORTH CASTI.K.

Wars of the Roses

of the King and Queen was not sufficient to alienate
their affections from the House of Lancaster.

Four years later the outskirts of Coventry was the
scene of one of the too frequent tragedies of those
unsettled times, when Earl Rivers and his son were
beheaded at Gosford Green by the orders of Sir John
Coniers, who had obtained some partial success in
Oxfordshire. In the following year, 1470, the Earl of
Warwick, on his return from France, entered Coventry,
which was still Lancastrian in sympathy, with much
war material and hostile intentions to the inhabitants.
On hearing of the Earl of Warwick's presence King
Edward, who lay at Leicester with his forces, marched
thence, and after resting at Coombe Abbey, proceeded
to Gosford Green, and then approaching Coventry
demanded admission ; but this being refused, he con-
tinued his march to Warwick. Later on, when he had
won the decisive battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury,
and had regained power, Edward, in revenge for the
action of the people of Coventry in refusing to receive
him in the previous year, deprived them of many of
their privileges and levied upon them a considerable
fine, amounting to five hundred marks. But the King
soon realised that the good -will of the townsfolk
was of too great importance for him to risk losing
it by undue severity ; and, therefore, on payment
of the fine, their privileges of which they had been
deprived were again restored to them.

Four years later Edward kept the Feast of St.
George at Coventry, and in the same year his son stood

97 U

Warwickshire

as godfather to the Mayor's child, and was presented
with a cup and a hundred guineas, and also made a
brother of the Guilds of Corpus Christi and Holy
Trinity.

Richard II. also visited the city, and Henry VII.
came and lodged at the Mayor's immediately after the
decisive victory over Richard III. at Bosworth Field.

It would appear that the people of Coventry of
these days were opulent and generous, but exercised
little originality in the form of the gifts they bestowed
upon royal or distinguished visitors, for, like Prince
Edward of York a few years previously, Henry VII.
was presented with a cup and a hundred guineas, and
seems to have made so favourable an impression upon the
townsfolk that they a few years later subscribed £1100
towards the tax which was levied for the purpose of de-
fraying the expense of the King's expedition to France.

Henry VIII. and Catherine of Arragon visited
Coventry in 1510, and witnessed three magnificent
pageants ; and it is possible that the prosperity of the
town, which was popularly attributed as chiefly owing
to the magnitude and wealth of its monastic institutions,
may have suggested to the King's mind the idea of the
ultimate suppression of these foundations. Be it as
it may, it was stated by one John Hales, Esq., to the
Protector Somerset, " that in consequence of the
Dissolution trade grew so low, and there was such a
dispersion of people from this city, that there were not
even 3000 inhabitants, whereas there had been formerly
15,000." Although this picture of the desolation

98

u

Mysteries " and Guilds

wrought by the suppression of the religious houses is
probably painted in too vivid colours, there seems little
doubt that great distress resulted in the years immedi-
ately following the arbitrary action of Henry VIII. 's
minister Cromwell, for we find that although at least
one branch of commerce, the clothing trade, was still
flourishing, a charter for an additional fair was granted
to alleviate the distress of the remaining inhabitants.

One of the great features of Coventry life in the
Middle Ages was undoubtedly the wealth and influence
of the numerous bodies called Guilds, which were of
both a religious and secular character, and to the support
of these must be attributed much of the fame that
distinguished Coventry for its " mysteries " or sacred
plays. These dramatic performances, which partook of
much of the character of that most interesting and
popular survival of the present day " Everyman," took
place on movable platforms which were drawn through
the principal streets and open places. The subjects of
these plays were generally Scriptural or semi-Scriptural
in character, and the different festivals, more especially
that of Corpus Christi, were popular days for the
representations. In addition to these there was at
Coventry the play on Hock Tuesday, which was founded
upon incidents of the Massacre of the Danes, and also
pageants which were performed on the occasion of
Royal visits, and at other special times.

On the occasion of Queen Elizabth's visit to
Coventry in 1565, during one of her progresses she
was received by the sheriffs in scarlet cloaks and a

99

Warwickshire

score of young men on horseback, clad in a livery of
fine purple. The Queen was met at the limits of the
liberties of the city in the direction of Wolvey, and
each of the young men presented to the Queen a white
rod, which she receiving delivered to them again, and
they then rode before her until they came near the
city, when the Mayor and Aldermen in their scarlet
cloaks came out to receive her. As was the custom in
these times a presentation of money was made ; the
Recorder, we learn, presenting "a purse, supposed
to be worth twenty marks, and in it £100 in angels,
which the Queen accepting was pleased to say to her
lords : " It is a good gift, a hundred pounds in gold ; I
have but few such gifts."

To which the Mayor answering boldly, replied : "If
it please your Grace, there is a good deal more in it."

" What is that ? " said she.

" The hearts," he replied, " of all your loving
subjects."

" We thank you, Mr. Mayor," said the Queen."

This at any rate is a much more courtier-like account
of the presentation than that recorded by another
writer, by whom the Mayor is said to have made the
following rhyming address to the Queen, which, if
the idea is based on fact at all, is probably a travesty
fabricated at a later date : —

" We men of Coventree
Are very glad to see
Your gracious Majesty,
Good Lord, how fair ye bee ! "
TOO

Queen Elizabeth's Visit

To which somewhat over-bold remark the Queen
is stated to have replied sarcastically : —

"Your gracious Majesty
Is very glad to see
Ye men of Coventree,
Good lack, what fools ye bee ! "

In the year previous to the Queen's visit the plague
had committed great ravages in the city, hundreds of
the inhabitants falling victims, and the " dreadful dead
carts passing constantly through the streets taking their
horrible toll from most houses, and picking up those
who had fallen of the sickness in the streets." Thus with
the clothing business falling to decay without any
substitute being introduced to fill its place, and suffering
from the suppression of the religious houses, Coventry
was in but a poor state at the time of Elizabeth's visit.
The Recorder's speech, however, which was very
lugubrious, probably exaggerated the situation, although,
as Mr. Brewer says, " the ardour of the natives had
been damped when they saw the gorgeous piles of
religious splendour, so long their pride and boast, one
vast heap of ruins."

The Queen during her visit lodged at the White
Friars, then a residence of the Hales family, and was,
notwithstanding the reputed decay and poverty of the
times, entertained with lavish magnificence.

The next Royal visitor within the city walls had no
pageants, addresses, or honours showered upon her,
but hapless Mary Queen of Scots was brought to
Coventry and shut up a prisoner in the Mayor's parlour

10*1

Warwickshire

during the year following the coming of her royal
cousin. Again, three years later, in 1569, she was
brought to Coventry and incarcerated in the Bull Inn
(the site of which is now occupied by the Barracks),
and kept under the charge of the Earls of Shrewsbury
and Huntingdon. The citizens had during her incar-
ceration within their walls the melancholy and trouble-
some task of keeping watch and ward night and day at
each of the gates, so that none might pass to or fro
without good cause.

In 1610 King James I., in a letter addressed to the
heads of the city and the Church, commanded that the
inhabitants should kneel whilst receiving the sacrament,
and when they several years later applied to him for
a renewal of their charter the King refused to grant it
until he had been satisfied that his command regarding
their kneeling when receiving of the sacrament had
been obeyed. A few years later the King visited
Coventry and was presented with what must be almost
considered the inevitable £100, and in addition thereto
with a silver cup of fine workmanship weighing forty-
five ounces, out of which, the King exclaimed, that he
would drink wherever he went.

During the succeeding reign and the Civil War
which broke out, Coventry attached itself to the side
of Parliament ; the influence of Lord Brooke of
Warwick overpowering that of the Earl of Northamp-
ton, who was Recorder and a staunch Royalist. At
the outset of the war, King Charles, after he had raised
his standard at Nottingham, sent to Coventry and

102

Coventry and Charles I.

demanded quarters, and these being refused he attacked
the city in full force and succeeded in capturing one
of the gates. He was, however, finally repulsed with
considerable loss, and obliged to abandon his attempt
to take the town. For this act of contumacy and the
fact that it was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops until
the Restoration it was destined to suffer later on.
Charles II., notwithstanding the enthusiastic demon-
strations of the inhabitants at his restoration and the
surrender of possessions which the city had originally
purchased from the Crown, did not forget the part
Coventry had played during the Civil War, and a com-
mission held in 1662 prescribed the demolition of the
city walls as a mark of the King's displeasure for the
disloyalty of the inhabitants to his father. This act
was immediately put into effect by the Earl of Nor-
thampton. All that now remains of the fortifications
are two of the gates, Cook Street Gate, now a mere
roofless shell, and the Swanswell or Priory Gate in
Hales Street, which after the archway had been blocked
up some years ago was converted into dwellings.

Twenty-five years later, when King James II. visited
Coventry, the citizens, no doubt remembering the
exactions and punishment under which they suffered
in the previous reign for their old-time disloyalty to
the Crown, paid the King the greatest marks of attention
and respect. They presented him with a gold cup and
cover, and even went the length of smoothing the
rough surfaces of their streets with sand, white-washing
their houses, and decorating them with garlands and

103

Warwickshire

flags. Occasionally interesting relics of the Roman
occupation are discovered when excavating foundations
for new buildings, and when laying out new roads.

Rich in ancient buildings Coventry is full of interest
to the students of medieval architecture and to the
archaeologist. Of the ancient monastery church of
the Grey Friars, which was built in the reign of
Edward III., little now remains save the beautiful
octagonal tower and spire, which rises to a height of
upwards of 200 feet. This church became so rich in
later years from the gifts bestowed upon it by various
benefactors that the historian William of Malmesbury
writes of it : " It was enriched and beautified with so
much gold and silver that the walls seemed too narrow
to contain it ; insomuch that Robert de Limesie,
Bishop of this diocese in the time of King William
Rufus, scraped from one beam that separated the
shrines 500 marks of silver." The church was also a
rich storehouse of relics, amongst which, placed in a
beautiful silver shrine, was an arm of St. Augustine,
and on the casket containing it was a notification of its
purchase from the Pope by Agelnethus, Archbishop
of Canterbury.

After the suppression of the monasteries the site
and remains of the church were granted about 1542
to the Mayor and Corporation, and, as was the case
with many other similar buildings, the partially ruined
church served for a long period as a quarry from which
the inhabitants appear to have drawn building materials
for their own houses.

104

STONELEIGH AIU5KV.

St. Michael's Church

Fortunately, however, the elegant tower escaped.
It was ultimately and for many years surrounded by
an orchard, which belonged to a nurseryman who turned
the lower portion of the tower into a piggery, and who
used to laughingly boast that he possessed the tallest
pig-sty in the country. In the early years of the
last century the idea of building on a new church to
the old tower presented itself to the minds of some
Coventry people, and the Corporation released their
rights to the tower for the purpose. The work, which
was commenced in 1829, was finished three years later.
The idea, we believe, was to erect this church in the
style of the original, but one can scarcely credit that
this intention was carried out if one may at the same
time accept the statement that the ancient building was
of such elegance and beauty as chroniclers have recorded.

In St. Michael's Church one has, however, an early
and remarkably beautiful example of Perpendicular
architecture, the tower and spire of which is almost
world-famed.

In the reign of King Stephen a grant was made to
the prior of the neighbouring Benedictine monastery,
and this constitutes the earliest mention of the church.
Of the original building, which was of Norman design,
only a few fragments have from time to time been
discovered, and the first church was susperseded in the
thirteenth century by one of Early English design, of
which nothing except some portions of the walls, the
south-west doorway, and the south porch remain at
the present day.

105 i4

Warwickshire

The present beautiful church was probably erected
between the year 1373 and the first half of the next
century, its founders being members of a family
named Botoner. William and Adam Botoner were not
only prosperous merchants and notable citizens of
Coventry, but had each of them the unusual distinc-
tion of filling the office of Mayor three times. The
munificence of the family, tradition asserts, was per-
petuated by a brass tablet which was formerly affixed
in the church, and bore the following inscription : —

William and Adam built the tower,

Ann and Mary built the spire ;
William and Adam built the church,

Ann and Mary built the quire.

Strange to relate, the tower was the first part of the
church to be commenced, and this, finished in 1394,
had its cost defrayed by the two brothers we have
mentioned, who made yearly payments for the purpose
of j£ioo. Thirty-eight years later the spire was com-
menced by the sisters Ann and Mary, but the date
of its completion is uncertain. Two years after the
commencement of the spire these benevolent women
undertook the building of the central aisle.

The tower is built in four stages, and has a height
of 136 feet ; the two upper stages are pierced with
windows and beautified with panelling and canopied
niches, which contain a considerable number of figures ;
the latter are a somewhat cosmopolitan collection, made
up chiefly of saints, but also comprising statuettes of

1 06

Guild Chapels

members of the Botoner family we have before referred
to, Lady Godiva, her husband, and several English
kings and their wives. The flying buttresses support-
ing the tower are of very great beauty and grace, two
springing from each pinnacle of the main tower and
resting against the angles of the octagonal lantern,
above which rises the beautiful spire to a further
height of 130 feet, the total elevation of the whole
being just over 300 feet.

Although the spire is still of great beauty much of
the detail of the original ornamentation has unfortu-
nately disappeared, owing to the soft nature of the stone
used in its construction.

The total length of the church is 293 feet, with a
greatest width of 127 feet, the nave being 50 feet in
height. The interior, with its long range of slender
columns in the nave, and the number of large windows
and the fine timbered roof, has a very beautiful effect.
The chapels of the various Guilds now form the north
and south outer aisles, and still go by the names which
they bore at the time the members of these various
organisations were in the habit of worshipping in them.

Beginning with those on the south side, next the
tower, the first is the Dyers' Chapel, on the walls of
which are some interesting monuments dating from the
early years of the seventeenth century onwards. Next
comes the Cappers' Room, over the south porch, with
the chapel devoted to the same Guild, and known as St.
Thomas', on the east side. The Mercers' Chapel, near
by, also contains some interesting monuments of the

107

Warwickshire

sixteenth century, worthy of attention as marking, both
in their style and the inscriptions they bear, the florid
spirit of the times. From this chapel a flight of steps
leads down into the vestry, an extension of the ancient
sacristy, which tradition asserts was used sometimes as
a prison ; carved on the wall of which is a crucifix,
supposed to be the work of some prisoner confined for
an ecclesiastical offence.

The apse of the church, formerly the Lady Chapel,
contains nothing of any great note save the fragments
of ancient stained glass collected from various windows
in other portions of the church, now placed in a few of
those of the apse.

The reredos is partly Early English, and partly Deco-
rated in style, and the eastern compartments contain some
good sculpture. The Drapers' Chapel, which is situated
in the north aisle, is of considerable artistic interest, as it
contains thirteen stalls which have finely carved standards
and misereres or folding seats, the under portions of
which are ornamented with humorous designs. On
the north wall of the chapel is an ancient brass, dating
about 1 506, to the memory of Thomas Bond, Mayor of
Coventry in 1497, and founder of the Bablake Hospital.
Next is St. Lawrence's Chapel, followed by the Girdlers'
Chapel ; and last of all the Smiths' or St. Andrew's
Chapel, containing some interesting tombs removed
from their original position in the Drapers' Chapel.

The pulpit, though a fine one, is modern ; but the
font at the west end of the chancel is in all probability
the one given by John Cross, then Mayor of Coventry,

108

Holy Trinity Church

to the church in 1394 ; it bears on a small brass plate
a shield containing four crosses, the ancient merchants'
mark.

Almost a rival to St Michael's, at least in interest if
not in beauty, is the church of the Holy Trinity, the
date of the original foundation of which is unknown,
but certain portions of the present building in and above
the north porch probably date from about the middle
of the thirteenth century, at which time the church was
joined to the priory. It is an undoubted fact, however,
that a much earlier building must have existed on the
same spot. The present church, which is 178 feet long
and 67 feet broad, probably dates from a short time before
that of St. Michael's, and differs very much from it both
as regards its form and construction. In shape it is cruci-
form, and consists of a nave with north and south aisles,
a chancel with chapels, and transepts. The tower and
spire are situated in the centre, and are supported on
four arches, springing from massive but well-propor-
tioned piers. The ancient spire was blown down during
the terrific hurricane of January 24, 1665, the church
being greatly damaged by its fall. The task of rebuild-
ing it and repairing the injury done to the church was
commenced almost immediately, and so rapidly did the
work proceed that the spire was completed in two years
to a height of 237 feet, which is supposed to be some-
what greater than that of the one destroyed.

Over the north porch, which is the most ancient
portion of the present church, is situated a domus
or priest's chamber, the east side window of which

109

Warwickshire

was formerly a doorway leading into St. Thomas'
Chapel.

Prior to the Reformation there were a large number
of chapels and altars attached to Holy Trinity, the chief
of which were the Marlers' or Mercers' Chapel to the
east of the transept ; the chapel of Our Lady, now
forming the choir vestry, anciently a continuation of
the south chancel aisles ; the Butchers' Chapel ; the
Jesus Chapel in the south transept ; and the Tanners'
or Barkers' Chapel in the south aisle of the nave.

In 1831 a fresco, illustrative of the Last Judgment,
was discovered in the space over the west arch under
the tower. This survival, which was probably white-
washed over during Puritan times, has unfortunately
deteriorated and become almost indistinguishable. The
picture when discovered depicted the Saviour in the
centre, seated on a rainbow, and flanked on either side
by six apostles ; at a slightly lower position were figures
of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist ; two
angels with trumpets were sounding the summons to
judgment, and the dead were seen issuing from their
tombs. On the right hand of the Saviour was the
figure of a pope entering Paradise, while on the left
were figures of doomed spirits being dragged to torment.

The clerestory of the church is of the Perpendicular
period, and is divided into eight bays, each containing
two windows. The pulpit, attached to the south-east
pier of the tower, is noticeable as being a fine specimen
of stone-work in the Perpendicular style. The font,
which stands on its original base of two steps, has sunk

no

The Lectern

panels painted and gilt in the Decorated style. The
brass eagle is of far greater interest than usually
attaches to these things, owing to the fact that it is
contemporary in date with the church itself, and is also
one of the earliest examples of core casting.

A considerable amount of romance is connected
with this lectern, for in 1560 an entry is found in
which it is stated that xvjd were expended " for mend-
yng of ye Eagle's tayle," which had been damaged,
possibly at the time of the suppression of the
monasteries. This self- same eagle was threatened
with even greater risk of destruction during the
Commonwealth, for we find an entry in the vestry
book of the date of July 13, 1654, which states "that
Mr. Abraham Watts made a motion, that whereas he
was informed that this House had an intention to sell
the brass Eagle standing in the vestrie, that he might
have the refusall thereof when such shall be mede."
An additional entry running, "Agreed, that if it be
sold, he shall have the refusall thereof." At the time
when the lectern was nearly sold, the font, being in
those times considered an objectionable survival of
Romanism, was removed and an ordinary vessel was
provided for use at baptisms. It was, however,
fortunately preserved, and brought back and set up in
its original position after the Restoration.

The handsome reredos was erected in 1873 by Sir
Gilbert G. Scott, R.A., and represents the Crucifixion
in the centre, with the Nativity and Ascension on either
side.

in

Warwickshire

An event of more than passing interest in connection
with the church was the marriage, recorded in the
register, of Sarah Kemble — afterwards the famous Mrs.
Siddons — with William Siddons, an actor in the
theatrical company of the bride's father, which was at
the time performing in the Drapers' Hall.

The Church of John the Baptist, also known as
Bablake Church, is one well worth visiting, especially
by students of architecture and archaeology. It pos-
sesses a fine lantern tower with battlements springing
from the centre of the church. Since 1774 it has been
the Parish Church.

Coventry, famous in the past for its religious founda-
tions and ecclesiastical architecture, was not perhaps
less notable for its buildings of a purely domestic or
municipal character, and happily not a few of these have
survived, either complete or in part, to provide object
lessons for the student and the lover of antiquities.

Amongst the beautiful buildings which make this
town still one of the most interesting in the Midlands,
is St. Mary's Hall, hard by the church of St. Michael.
This fine and ancient building, which, however, from
the dilapidation of the stone-work front, possesses a
somewhat heavy and decayed appearance from the
outside, and is too closely surrounded by other build-
ings for a good general view to be obtained, was
commenced towards the end of the fourteenth century,
and completed in 1414 by the united Guilds of St.
Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine, and Holy
Trinity, known as the Trinity Guild. Unfortunately,
the front and the tower at the south-west angle has

112

St. Mary's Hall

been allowed to fall into decay, the two upper stories
of the latter having long ago vanished.

The courtyard is entered through the depressed
archway leading into a finely vaulted porch, on the
central boss of the groining of which is an interesting
carving representing the coronation of the Virgin, and
on the projecting impost of the inward arch on the
right hand is a representation of the Annunciation ;
whilst the impost on the opposite side is ornamented
with animal grotesques. There is a lofty room on the
east side of the porch, which was formerly the chapel
of the Mercers' Company. The courtyard lies beyond
this, and on the western side of it is the entrance to
the crypt beneath the Great Hall. Near the windows
of the crypt are the ancient lockers, used for the safe
custody of documents and other valuables belonging to
members of the Guild. In the smaller chamber next
the street are several relics, not the least interesting of
which is the knave's post, a figure six feet high, having
arm openings, which was removed from a wall in
Much Park Street in 1886. It came originally from
one of the religious houses, and was the goal of
offenders, who, sentenced to be whipped at the cart's
tail, usually started from the Mayor's parlour in Cross
Cheaping, to which they were sometimes also whipped
back. The last occasion on which a public whipping
was given is supposed to have been between the years
1820 and 1830. The old Coventry stocks, which are
also to be found in this room, formerly standing in
the market-place, and last used in July 1861, are

113 15

Warwickshire

threefold, which speaks but ill for the conduct of the
town.

The south end of the inner court is the kitchen,
which was originally the hall of the Merchants' or St.
Mary's Guild, turned to its present use when the new
hall was erected. Unfortunately the chamber has
suffered considerably at various times from repairs and
structural alterations. It contains four great chimneys,
with an opening in the roof to allow of the escape of
steam. In the lobby on the eastern side of the court-
yard is an interesting statue, which, however, has been
considerably restored and is generally believed to repre-
sent Henry VI. It once formed one of the chief
figures on the ancient city Cross in Cross Cheaping,
which was unfortunately demolished in 1771. Dugdale
wrote of it as " one of the chief things wherein this
city most glories, which for workmanship and beauty
is inferior to none in England."

From the lobby a broad staircase leads up to the
vestibule, and thus to the Great Hall, in which so many
historic scenes in past times have taken place. Up
these stairs in ancient days passed the leading citizens
of Coventry, and also, in all likelihood, some at least of
the royal and famous visitors who have at various times
been received by the town. The great hall, which
is some 70 feet long, 30 feet broad, and 34 feet high,
is lighted by seven Perpendicular windows, three on
either side, each containing four lights, and mullioned
and transomed, and a fine nine-light window set in the
northern end. This latter is filled with ancient stained

114

The Ancient Tapestry

glass, the upper portion with nineteen coats of arms,
and the lower containing a number of full length
representations of kings, amongst whom are William
I., Richard I., Henry III., Henry IV., Henry V.,
Henry VI., Constantine the Great, King Arthur, and
one unidentified. The glass is by the John Thornton
who was a native of Coventry, and also the artist of
the magnificent east window in York Minster. The
roof of this beautiful hall is of oak, very richly carved,
with the space above the tie beams filled with open
panel-work. In the centre are full-length figures of
angels, symbolical of the Heavenly Hosts, bearing in
their hands musical instruments ; whilst the bosses at
the intersection of the ribs are also richly carved.

The tapestry hanging below the north window,
which is beautiful work, although of Flemish design,
was probably made in England either in the last years
of the fifteenth or commencement of the sixteenth
century. One thing is clear from the lines of the
divisions corresponding with the mullions in the window
above, namely, that it was originally made for the pur-
pose to which it is applied. There are three compart-
ments, each of them divided into an upper and lower
tier, and the subject of the tapestry is popularly sup-
posed to represent incidents of the visit paid by
Henry VI. and his Queen Margaret to Coventry on
September 21, 1451, on which occasion they were the
guests of the Prior of the Benedictines. Not only is
this tapestry of great antiquarian interest, but it is also
valuable as representing some of the famous people of

Warwickshire

Henry VI. 's reign and the costumes of that and of
other days. Especially to be noted are the subjects
occupying the centre compartment, which relate to the
connection of the building with the Trinity Guild,
and that also of the Guild of St. Mary which was
incorporated with it. One strange anachronism in
connection with the pictures in the first tier of the first
compartment is the representation of Duke Humphrey
and Cardinal Beaufort as being present at the time of
the visit of King Henry. Both of these predeceased
the occasion by several years, and probably the ex-
planation of their presence is the fact that the work
was undertaken and completed a considerable time
after the visit of the King.

In the upper row of the middle compartment
is a figure of Justice enthroned, surrounding which
are angels holding in their hands the instruments
of the Passion. It is supposed that this incongruity
was due to the insertion of the figure of Justice
in Puritan times, and authorities differ in their views
as to whether the evidently offending and deleted
figure was that of the Trinity or Christ. Mr. Scharf,
who has made a close study of this particular work,
is of the opinion that the remains of the handsome
throne and part of a beautiful embroidered mantle
which are depicted, may have belonged to a seated
figure of Christ clad in flowing robes, often the subject
of paintings at that particular period. His argument,
which is as follows, indeed seems to be a weighty one.
He writes, "had it been a representation of the

116

Portraits and Manuscripts

Trinity with the first Person holding a crucifix, I do
not think we should have had the angels with the
instruments of the Passion, but rather the four
emblems of the Evangelists, as on the canopy of the
tomb of the Black Prince at Canterbury, and in
various MS. illuminations."

Whatever may be the true explanation of this
inserted and incongruous figure, one cannot feel other
than satisfaction that the mutilation of the tapestry,
permitted by Puritan fanaticism, did not proceed to
greater lengths.

In the hall are a number of royal portraits, including
pictures of Charles II. and James II. by Lely, and of
George III. and George IV. by Sir Thomas Lawrence ;
and on the walls are also some Latin inscriptions, in-
cluding one surmounted by the letters E.R. celebrating
Queen Elizabeth, and another commemorating the
Black Prince.

Within recent years a new fireproof Muniment Room
has been built downstairs, where is kept a most valuable
and interesting series of documents. Earliest of these is
a charter received from Ranulph, Earl of Chester, in
the reign of Henry II. A similar document of Con-
firmation, granted in the reign of Charles II., has
additional interest from the fact that it contains a fine
miniature portrait of the King. In addition to more
important documents relative to Coventry affairs are
many most interesting and unique letters, some of
them of a more or less private character. One in
particular from Margaret, the mother of Henry VII.,

117

Warwickshire

calling attention in peremptory language to a former
and unanswered letter. There are two communications
from Henry VIII., one bearing a written signature
and the other stamped with a wooden stamp.

Another exceedingly interesting letter is that
received by the Mayor of Coventry in September
1534, dated the I2th of that month, from Ann Boleyn,
announcing to him the birth of her daughter Elizabeth,
afterwards Queen. There is also one from Elizabeth
herself, dated thirty-six years later, relative to the arrival
at Coventry of unhappy Mary Queen of Scots.

A strange side light upon the custom of the times
is thrown by an indenture dated Warwick, 1478,
relating to some jewels which the impecunious Duke
of Clarence had pledged to the city. There are other
letters from royal personages, including Edward IV.,
Richard III., Henry VII., James I., Charles II., James
II., and from Archbishops Laud and Cranmer, and
Richard Baxter. In addition to all these memorials
of the past, valuable alike for their historical and
antiquarian interest, is a remarkable miscellaneous
collection of nearly twenty thousand documents, in-
cluding deeds of gift, charters, grants, leases, etc., and
a set of the trade-marks of Guild members impressed
in wax, extending from the reign of Edward I. down
to the latter half of the fifteenth century.

At the rear of the Minstrel Gallery is a large room
formerly used as the armoury, in which is hung a fine
picture, the " Bacchanali," by Luca Giordano, and at the
back of these apartments is another room, traditionally

118

Bablake Hospital

supposed to have been that in which Mary Queen of
Scots was confined when at Coventry.

The Mayoress's parlour possesses a fine moulded
ceiling, in two compartments, with diagonal ribs united
in an octagonal panel. The fireplace has hollow jambs
ornamented with tracery, copied from the banqueting
hall of Kenilworth Castle, and is formed by a depressed
Tudor arch ; and above it is a figure of Godiva on
horseback placed in a recess. The elaborately carved
state chair of oak undoubtedly dates from the early
part of the sixteenth century, and possibly even
earlier. On one side is the figure of the Virgin and
Child, whilst the other is simply panelled. The back
is surmounted on one side by an elephant and castle —
the town arms ; and on the other side, which formerly
was the centre, stand two lions acting as supporters for
a coronet or crown, which has disappeared. The chair
when perfect was a double one, and was probably made
for the use of the Master of the Guild, and the Mayor,
when present at its meetings. On the walls are hung
some interesting portraits of royalty and of former
mayors of the town.

Amongst the other buildings of Coventry worthy
of note as representing survivals of ancient architecture
is the Bablake Hospital, endowed by one Thomas Bond
in 1506. "For" — as it is quaintly phrased — "ten
poore men, so long as the world shall endure, with a
woman to look to them." This Thomas Bond was
a draper of the city, and also its Mayor, in 1497 ;
when Perkin Warbeck was causing rebellion.

119

Warwickshire

Even a brief consideration of Coventry would be
incomplete without a mention of the famous Guilds
which in medieval times played so prominent a part in
its civic history. Of the many founded in the city the
oldest of all having a religious character was that of
St. Mary, which used to hold its annual meeting of
Masters, Brothers, and Sisters on Assumption Day,
as the quaint spelling of the time had it, " En sale
n're dame," in other words, in St. Mary's Hall.

As showing the power and importance of this Guild,
and, indeed, of the Guild system itself in ancient times,
one only has to remember the Royal and noble persons
who were frequently enrolled as members. Amongst
those who became members of the Guild of Holy
Trinity were Henry VI. and his Queen, Margaret of
Anjou ; Henry VII. and his Queen, Elizabeth of
York ; and Edward V. when he was Prince of Wales.
It is interesting also to record that the name of
Shakespeare is included among the brothers and sisters
of the Guild.

The form of petition for admission into the Guild,
and the oath which had to be taken by intending
members at the ceremony of their admission, are both
quaint ; the former runs, " Maister, we beseech you,
at the reverence of the Holy Trinity, that you will
receive us to be brethren of this place with you."
And the latter runs, "Ye shall be good and true,
and each of you shall be good and true to the Master
of the Gild of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, St. John
and St. Catherine of Coventre, and to all the brethren

1 20

Royal Guild Members

and sisters of the same Gild ; and all the good rules
and ordinances by the said Master and his Brethren
afore this time made, and hereafter to be made, and
your days of payment truly for to keep to your power,
so God you help and all Saints."

Amongst the other Guilds possessing royal members
was that of Corpus Christi, instituted in the reign of
Edward III., which rendered assistance to the churches
of St. Michael and Holy Trinity, by part payment of
the priests ; of this Guild King Edward V. was a
member.

The Trade Guilds, of which there were many, one
of the oldest being that of the Sheremen and Tailors,
founded in honour of the Nativity some time in the
reign of Richard II., were very jealous of their privi-
leges, and resented promptly any infringement upon
their prerogative. An interesting instance of their
action in this respect was afforded by a combination of
the Guilds for the purpose of suppressing an imitation
guild which some of the young men of the town had
formed in the early years of the reign of Henry VI.
Dugdale's account of this action runs as follows : —

" The common people," he says, " namely, Journeymen of
several trades, observed what merry-meetings and feasts their
masters had, by being of those Fraternities, and that they
themselves wanted in like pleasure did of their own accord
assemble together in several places of the city and especially in
St. George's Chapel near Gosford Gate, which occasioned the
Mayor and his brethren in the 3rd year of Henry VI. to
complain thereof to the King ; alledging, that the said Jour-

121 16

Warwickshire

neymen in their unlawful meetings called themselves St. George
his Gild, to the intent that they might maintain and abet one
another in quarrels j and for their better conjunction had made
choyce of a Master, with Clerks and Officers to the great
contempt of the K. authority, prejudice of the other Gilds
(viz. holy Trin and Corp Christi) and disturbance of the city ;
whereupon the King directed his Writ to the Mayor and
Justices, with the Bayliffs of this City, commanding them by
proclamation to prohibite any more such meetings."

Thus were the perhaps not unnatural desires of
young people of the Middle Ages to emulate the gaiety
and junketings of their betters crushed by royal
authority.

These trading Guilds were almost analogous to the
ancient Companies of the City of London, and have in
many cases survived to the present time, although
nowadays their raison d'etre is somewhat far to seek,
and one is forced to the conclusion that the chief excuse
for their continued existence is the feeling that old
institutions should not be allowed to disappear, even
though the original and perhaps justified reasons for
their foundation no longer obtain.

In some of the Guilds great and striking alterations
have been made from their aforetime character, although
they survive at the present day. The Guild of Fullers
or Tailors and Sheremen, one of the most ancient, had
at one time only one surviving brother, who nominated
a second, and thus it remained until the year 1860,
when the number was once more reduced to a single
brother, who then made seven others.

122

Coventry-
Coventry, now so essentially a commercial city, in
ancient days saw, perhaps, more of change and tragedy
than most towns of central England. In the Middle
Ages, indeed, stirring events succeeded one another
with somewhat startling rapidity within its walls, and
public executions were far less uncommon than the in-
habitants could have wished. Opposite the old Black
Bull Inn, where Henry VI. stayed after the Battle of
Bosworth Field, and where Mary Queen of Scots was
confined for several months in 1569 (now the site of
the Barracks), one Thomas Harrington of Oxford was
beheaded in 1487 for having claimed that he was the
son of the Duke of Clarence. In the garden known
as Park Hollows, near which are some fragments of
the ancient city walls, during the Marian Persecution,
several martyrs, including Lawrence Sanders, Cornelius
Bungey, and Robert Glover were burnt for heresy.

From the town of these days it is a far cry, indeed,
to the bustling modern city ; still containing, however,
somewhat of the philosophy of ancient civic life, though
chiefly concerned with the manufacture of such modern
things as bicycles, motors, and aeroplanes.

Even before the Great War the city was a hive of
industry, and its rapid growth, and the wide extension
of its boundaries have been, indeed, remarkable during
the last decade.

To recount Coventry's part in the waging of the
Great War would occupy far more space than can be
devoted to it in a book like the present ; but many of
the most essential elements in the ultimate victory had

123

Warwickshire

their origin in the wonderful activities of the ancient
town.

War material, munitions, motor cars, aeroplanes, and
petrol engines were turned out in enormous quantities.
Thousands of skilled mechanics were drawn off from
industry to play a more active part in the war overseas,
but the older men, women, boys, and girls took their
places, and magnificently carried on the ceaseless
activities of providing the munitions of war.

A descriptive writer gave this war-time picture of
Coventry. " It is a city of ancient greatness inspired
with a spirit so modern as to strike one as being
incongruous. There are few lights at night, for it is
war time, but at sunset against the pale lemon evening
sky its spires are sharply silhouetted, and the lofty
chimneys of its restless factories trail diaphanous veils
of smoke across the vault of heaven. Even at a distance
one hears a murmurous hum of machines, which comes
upon the evening air like the hum of innumerable bees.
. . . Coventry never sleeps. In the age of the curfew it
slept soundly, its streets dark as now. But to-day the
work is continuous, for only that way can victory lie."

Yes, Coventry bore its burden, did its share, and
played its part.

But, seen from a little distance and from certain
aspects, Coventry still possesses a strange old-world
charm, and the more modern elements of its present-
day life seem to fade away, leaving a picture of elegant
spires rising from amid a sea of indistinct and even
picturesquely disposed roofs.

124

CHAPTER VI

KENILWORTH AND ITS PRIORY THE STORY AND

ROMANCE OF KENILWORTH CASTLE

KENILWORTH, which is prettily situated, and lies almost
equidistant between Warwick and Coventry, and
about five miles direct north of the former town, is
reached by the turnpike road passing Guy's Cliff,
the beautiful Blakedown Mill, which existed prior to
the reign of Henry II., and Chessford Bridge. Few
who visit Kenilworth at the present day would imagine
that this quiet, straggling country town, with a popula-
tion of about four thousand, could ever have played
the important part it did in the history and romance of
the county and the nation at large.

Kenilworth of to-day at first sight gives the traveller
the impression of being merely a sleepy town, with the
architecture of its long main street, which is a full mile
in length, picturesquely broken up by the interspersing
of modern and older buildings. Few, indeed, would
suppose that any manufacture of the slightest import-
ance could occupy the thoughts or the energies of its
inhabitants ; but there are still some carried on amid
its rural surroundings.

125

Warwickshire

One of the most interesting buildings in Kenilworth
is the old Elizabethan House, standing just beyond
the King's Arms Hotel, at which Sir Walter Scott put
up when visiting the place in 1826. Over the door of
the house, which is of two stories, is a wooden panel
on which is carved a representation of the bear and
ragged staff, with the initials R. L., standing for Robert
Leicester. The building was in former times one of
the lodges of the castle, to which the roadway passing
the house leads, thus forming the principal approach.
In this house, tradition asserts, Amy Robsart used to
stay, and there is at least a tradition that years ago
a secret underground passage was discovered leading
from the house to the castle.

Although prettily situated, Kenilworth does not
nowadays possess any great attractions other than its
castle. But on the slope to the east of the latter, and
slightly below the level of the Coventry Road, is the
church, consisting of a western tower and spire, nave
with aisles, transepts, and a chancel with a south aisle
or Lady Chapel of considerable interest. The nave
and tower date from the fourteenth century, and on
the western side of the latter a very beautiful Norman
doorway, probably removed from the adjacent priory,
has been inserted. This door, which is well worth
the study of those interested in architecture, possesses
three receding arches, the first fluted, the second
beak-headed, and the third embattled, encircled by
a nail -headed band, and the whole enclosed in an
ornamental square, having a border of diaper -work

126

The Church

and cable moulding. There is also a patera in each
spandril.

The old entrance to the rood loft may be seen on
the north side of the chancel arch, now blocked up.
On the south side is a very good example of a lychno-
scope. The chancel contains a piscina and a circular font,
dating from the middle of the seventeenth century.
In the lower belfry is a boat -shaped leaden casting,
weighing about a ton, and bearing the seal of one
of Henry VIII. 's Commissioners, probably impressed
upon it at the time of his visit, with reference to the
Dissolution of the priory hard by, amongst the ruins of
which the casting was found in 1888.

There would appear to be little doubt that this "pig"
forms part of the leaden roof of the priory, for in
different accounts relating to the suppression of the
religious foundations throughout the country there are
many records of the melting down of the lead covering
the roofs, in order that it might be turned into cash.
The ancient Communion plate belonging to the church
is of great interest, and includes a chalice, dating from
about 1570, the gift of the Earl of Leicester ; a flagon,
paten, and chalice given by the Duchess of Dudley in
1638 ; and another less ornamental chalice given in
1644 by the Countess of Monmouth. The church
was somewhat relentlessly and badly restored in 1865.

The priory was a foundation of the Augustinians
or Black Canons, the full title of whom was the Canons
Regular of St. Augustine. The house was founded about
the year 1122 by Geoffrey de Clinton,

127

Warwickshire

As we have before said, the chief attraction of Kenil-
worth nowadays is its ruined castle, a magnificent and
impressive red sandstone pile, now overgrown with ivy
and, alas, crumbling yearly into greater decay, which in
ancient times saw so much of the stir, pageantry, and
circumstance of life. And even if some of the legends
and tales connected with this truly wonderful building
have little foundation in actual fact, there is still much
of unimpeachable history and romance welded into its
very fabric.

The glamour of Kenilworth is undeniable, and doubt-
less has been not a little added to from the fact that
so great and vivid a descriptive writer as Sir Walter
Scott made it the locale of one of his most popular and
perhaps most readable novels. That his history is not
entirely accurate has little or nothing to do with the
enjoyment of the book by the general reader, nor does
it militate against the interest aroused in the fine ruins
of the castle which he made the scene of so much
pageantry and romance.

The name of Kenilworth is probably derived from
the Saxon owner Kenulph or Kenelm, and " worthe,"
signifying a dwelling-place ; but in the Domesday Book
it is called Chenewrd, and in some Charters Chenille
Wurda, the " worthe " or manor of Chenil. Whether
the original owner of the manor was one named Chenil,
or Kenelm the Mercian, there is no satisfactory evidence,
but Dugdale associates the name with the latter, and
this, indeed, seems the more probable derivation. One
thing appears certain, however, namely, that the original

128

BADDESLEY CLINTON HALL.

Kenilworth Castle

founder of Kenilworth was a man of considerable posi-
tion, because his buhr or keep and its earthworks were
both extensive and strong.

At the period of the Domesday Book the manor of
Kenilworth was a portion of the royal manor of Stone-
leigh, and was divided into two parts, known as " Opton
or Upton, containing three hides, held direct of the
King by Albertus Clericus, in pure alms ; and Chine-
worde, held by Ricardus Forestarius. Opton is upper-
town or high-town, the rising ground to the north of
the present church. Chineworth is Kenilworth proper."
It seems probable that Chineworth is a corruption of
the name Kenilworth.

The ancient history of the castle is, owing to the
great alterations made by succeeding owners and the
absence of records, very difficult to trace, though it is
quite certain that the owner of the manor during Saxon
times, as was usual, fortified the best position by earth-
works, and also probably erected an earthen keep. The
exact site of the latter is quite an open question, as is
the point as to which of the earthworks now traceable
date back to the far remote period of Saxon times.
Indeed, until the reign of Henry I. the history of the
castle is largely speculative. Some authorities incline
to the view that the site of the present buildings was
in Roman times that of a fort, temporary or otherwise ;
which the Saxon chief afterwards selected, adopted, and
enlarged, that it might afford shelter and security for
his own flocks and herds which roamed the Arden, and
even those also of his immediate dependants.

129 17

Warwickshire

Kenilworth and its several owners during the Middle
Ages saw many vicissitudes and several tragic events.
In the Barons' War it changed hands several times, and
among its most famous owners was Simon de Montfort,
Earl of Leicester, who led the Barons against King
Henry III.

Many royal visits were paid during the succeeding
reigns, and Edward II. was deposed in the Great Hall,
and afterwards kept a prisoner in the castle.

In 1563 Kenilworth was granted by Queen
Elizabeth to her favourite, Robert Dudley, who in
the following year was created Earl of Leicester.
Soon after coming into possession of this magnificent
fortress dwelling he set about to make radical altera-
tions. We are told that he "gutted the keep and
forebuilding, afterwards fitting them up in the Tudor
style, and also erected the pile of buildings which are
known by his name, and rebuilt the Gallery Tower
on the outer end of the dam, and probably added an
upper story to the great barn." One of his finest
additions was undoubtedly the great gate -house on
the north side, by which means he turned what had
formerly been the rear of the castle into the front,
approaching it from the road crossing the valley
instead of from the side of the fields and lake. It
is considered by several authorities, too, that it was
probably he who later on filled up the ditch of the
inner ward. The building material he used was ashlar,
and although the work was not badly done, it was
probably carried out too rapidly, and was, therefore,
not of a very substantial or lasting character. After-

130

Elizabeth's Coming

wards, when the castle was allowed to fall into disrepair,
and the roofs and floors disappeared, the walls soon
gave way and became unsafe.

Doubtless with a view of entertaining his royal
mistress, who visited the castle in 1566, 1568, 1572,
and 1575, Robert Dudley spent an immense sum
on his alterations, which has been variously estimated
from fifty to seventy-five thousand pounds : a sum which
in those days, of course, represented a far greater
amount than would appear at first sight. Although
no doubt Queen Elizabeth was entertained right royally
on the occasions of all her visits, it was the last one,
which began on Saturday 9th of July, and did not end
until the 26th, that is most historically famous by
reason of the extraordinarily lavish and interesting
character of its entertainments prepared for the Queen.

From contemporary accounts — all the revels were
chronicled in detail by Laneham, an attendant on the
Queen — we gather at least some idea of what these
famous festivities were like. The Queen was met,
whilst still distant from the castle several hundred
yards, by a person dressed to represent " one of the
ten si bills cumly clad in a pall of white sylk, who pro-
nounced a proper poezie in English rime and meeter."
This service " Her Majestic benignly accepted, and
passed foorth into the next gate of the Brayz, which,
for the length, largenes, and use, they now call the
Tylt-yard."

Immediately on entering the latter the porter, a
huge fellow, who is recorded to have been so over-

Warwickshire

come with a sense of the Queen's majesty that he
scarcely knew what to do, presented the keys to the
Queen. This ceremony finished, six trumpeters, dressed
in loose, silken garments, who stood upon the wall
over the gateway, blew a fanfare of welcome, whilst
" her Highness, all along this Tilt-yard, rode into the
inner gate, where a person representing the Lady of
the Lake (famous in King Arthur's Book), with two
Nymphes waiting upon her, arrayed all in sylks,
attended her Highness coming." These beings
appeared suddenly on a floating island in the lake
blazing with torches, and made a speech of welcome
to the Queen, which ended with music ; the speech
which was made by the Lady of the Lake narrated
the "auncientee of the castle," and the dignities and
titles of the Earls of Leicester, and concluded with the
following verse : —

Wherefore, I will attend while you lodge here,
(Most peerless Queene) to Court to make resort ;
And as my love to Arthure did appeere,
So shal't to you in earnest and in sport.

A special road had been made by which the Queen
entered the castle, a bridge 20 feet wide and 70 feet
long having been constructed across the dry valley
leading to the castle gates, for her to pass over. The
posts erected on either side bore trays and bowls con-
taining gifts from the gods, which a poet had been
engaged especially to present to her. These consisted
of rare fruits from Pomona, corn from Ceres, wine

132

Royal Festivities

from Bacchus, a cage of wild fowl from Silvanus, sea
fish from Neptune, weapons from Mars, and musical
instruments from Phoebus. Her Majesty then passed
into the inner court, and (again quoting the ancient
account) " thear set doun from her palfrey was conveied
up to a chamber, when after did folio a great peal of
Gunz and lightning by Fyr-work."

One can well imagine that the Queen must have
been fatigued by her reception, which seems to have
included several recitals in addition to the Latin poem,
which was read to her by a poet clad " in a long
ceruleous Garment with a Bay Garland on his head
and a skrol in his hand."

The festivities thus inaugurated lasted for seventeen
days, and included nearly every conceivable amusement
popular in those days. There were hunting parties,
dances, and theatrical representations, fireworks on
the lake, bear baitings, Italian tumblers, tilting at the
Quintain, a country Bride-ale or marriage feast, and
Morrice dancing, the performers for the latter enter-
tainment being probably drawn from Long Marston,
near Stratford-on-Avon, which in those days was famous
for them. Most elaborate aquatic sports were also
given on the lake, where a Triton appeared riding on
a mermaid 18 feet long, accompanied by Arion on a
dolphin, from the interior of each of which proceeded
hidden music of a delightful character. In addition to
all these things the Coventry players made a special
journey to give their ancient play called " Hocks
Tuesday," which depicted scenes from the incidents

'33

Warwickshire

of the massacre of the Danes in the reign of King
Ethelred.

With these latter performances it is recorded the
Queen expressed herself as greatly pleased, giving to
the players a couple of fat bucks and five marks in
money for a feast.

Leicester not only entertained the Queen, but
crowds of other folk seem to have enjoyed the open
house provided, and we are told by Laneham that
"The Clok Bell sang not a Note, all the while her
Highness waz thear : the Clok also stood still withall ;
the handz of both the tablz stood firm and fast, allweys
pointing at 2 a' Clok," this being the usual banqueting
hour.

Some idea of the cost of the festivities, which is
stated by some authorities to have amounted to at least
a thousand a day, may be gained from the fact that no
less than 320 hogsheads of beer were drunk. The
Queen marked her approval of the entertainment pro-
vided by knighting five gentlemen, amongst whom
were Sir Thomas Cecil, son and heir to the Lord High
Treasurer Sir Henry Cobham, and Sir Francis Stanhope ;
and it would appear that she also touched for the
King's Evil, as a record exists that " Nyne persons
were cured of the peynful and daungerous deseaz
called the King's Evil." All of the masques were
written specially for the occasion ; a good number of
them by George Gascoigne, and may be found in his
well-known account of the festivities, entitled " Princely
Pleasures at Kenil worth."

134

Amy Robsart

As is well known, Sir Walter Scott in his novel
describes Amy Robsart as being present at Kenilworth
in 1575. This idea, however, is entirely erroneous,
as indeed are many other incidents recorded in the
tale. She died at Cumnor Place fifteen years before this
royal pageant, and it seems probable that her death
occurred prior to the granting of the castle to Leicester ;
although she may possibly have passed through Kenil-
worth on a journey, as there is an old tradition to this
effect at Moreton Morrell.

Very briefly, the real facts concerning Amy Robsart
are as follows. The only legitimate child of Sir
John Robsart of Siderstern, she was born in 1532,
and was married at the age of eighteen on 4th June,
at the Royal Palace of Sheen, to Lord Dudley, in the
presence of Edward VI. and many members of the
Court. She lived chiefly in the country during the
time that her husband was in attendance on the Court,
and ten years after her marriage, in 1560, was resid-
ing at Cumnor Place, rented from William Owen, a
son of George Owen, who had been one of the
physicians to King Henry VIII. At this time there
were staying with her a Mrs. Odingsells, sister of
Mr. Hyde, and Mrs. Owen, wife of the owner of
the house.

It was on Sunday, 8th September, that she was
found dead at the foot of a staircase, with her neck
broken, by the servants, who had been allowed to visit
the fair at Abingdon. In due course an inquest was
held, and full inquiry made into the circumstances of

Warwickshire

her death, but nothing was discovered in the least
implicating any one as accessory to it.

Although Robert Dudley was undoubtedly secretly
married at the time of his Sovereign's visit to Kenil-
worth, it was not to Amy Robsart. Four years previous
to the Queen's visit he had engaged himself to Lady
Douglas Sheffield, whom he had privately married in
May two years later, a son, Robert, being shortly after-
wards born to them. This marriage (concerning the
legality of which there seems to be some doubt) he
ultimately endeavoured to repudiate, and at the time
of the festivities at Kenilworth he was actually carrying
on a clandestine intrigue with Lettice, Countess of
Essex, whose husband died in the following year.

In 1578, although Lady Douglas Sheffield was alive,
he married Lady Lettice, who was a daughter of Sir
Francis Knollys, and a son was born to them, who,
however, died in 1584. On Leicester's death it was
found that he had bequeathed the castle for life to his
brother Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, and after him to
his son by Lady Douglas Sheffield, whom he termed
Sir Robert Dudley.

The only portion now habitable of what was
anciently one of the finest baronial fortress homes in
the kingdom is Leicester's magnificent gate-house,
which many authorities are agreed equals in its size
and beauty of architecture many a manor-house itself.
The old-time entrance passage of this gate -house
nowadays forms two rooms and small additions. The
magnificent fireplace in one of the rooms of the

136

MAXSTOKE CAST1.K.

Lunn's Tower

house is said to be a relic brought from the castle,
probably at the time of its dismantlement by the
Parliamentarians.

The entrance to the castle is through a small gate-
way, a few yards distant from the gate-house ; and
after passing through a strip of garden the outer court
of the castle is reached, and an impressive and fairly
extensive view of the whole building is obtained.

On the right-hand side are the remains of the
buildings which in former times formed the northern
side of the inner court, with the once extensive stables,
just visible on the left through a small shrubbery, with
the circular Lunn's Tower some forty feet in height
close to them, and projecting from the curtain. The
tower has two upper floors with fireplaces, and to one
of these has been given (why it is not discoverable)
the title of the King's Chamber. The loopholes are
all splayed on the inside, to assist in the discharge of
arrows, and on the outside wall are holes, in which were
placed beams to support the wooden galleries, called
" hoards," which enabled the defenders to have a
command of the walls, and thus make it impossible for
the attacking force to obtain shelter by keeping close
to them. The entrance to the tower was blown up
during the Civil War in the reign of Charles I.

The stabling, which is on the ground floor, of stone,
and the upper part mostly of timber and brick, has in
the centre a large porch and a wide entrance, as though
this part of the building was once used for the purpose
of a barn. The work is chiefly in the Late Perpen-

.137 I8

Warwickshire

dicular style, although traditionally of a much earlier
date.

Mortimer's Tower lies at the other end of the stable
buildings, past the warder's chamber, and is at the
castle end of the tilt-yard or dam. Why called Mor-
timer's Tower has never been satisfactorily settled, as
although Scott and some other writers believe that it
took its name from the Earl of March, who played the
principal part in the great tournament in the reign of
Edward I., and may possibly have lodged in it, others
incline to the view that it derived it from the circum-
stance of a Sir John Mortimer having been imprisoned
in it during the reign of Henry V. As a fact, the
tower is more properly to be considered a strong
double gateway, leading into the tilt-yard, and formerly
provided with two portcullises and a double set of
gates. Remains of chambers on either side are dis-
coverable, the one on the left hand possessing a garde-
robe ; the outer entrance is defended by two half-round
towers, which are pierced with loopholes for repelling
attack. The tower gateway leads out upon the high
bank, which was originally a portion of the dam of the
great lake, and was used as a tilt-yard. It extends for a
distance of about eighty yards to the Gallery Tower
placed at the end of this isthmus-like strip of land,
which in ancient times separated the lower lake from
the great lake. The Gallery Tower, however, cannot
now be reached from the tilt-yard, owing to the fact that
a deep cutting was made through the dam for the
purpose of draining off the waters from the lake, but it

138

The " Brayz "

can be seen embowered in trees from the castle side of
the cutting. This name was probably derived from
the fact that in ancient times it was furnished with " a
broad and fair gallery, set aside for the use of the ladies,
who were thus able to witness in comfort the jousts
and feats of chivalry which took place in the tilting-
yard," and also a " spacious and noble room " for the
same purpose. It was through this gate that Queen
Elizabeth made her entry into the castle, and from it
to the other gate the special bridge had been constructed
across the lake.

The " Brayz," which are huge mounds of earth, once
forming formidable outworks to the castle, now over-
grown by trees and underwood, probably derived the
name from the Norman-French braie, meaning a low
rampart ; although another authority seems to think
that the word was derived from " brayda," a suburban
field or broad place.

Near the Water Tower, which is situated almost
midway between Lunn's Tower and Mortimer's Tower,
can be traced the foundations of the castle chapel, built
by John of Gaunt. The tower is an interesting
example of architecture, in the ground-floor room of
which, possibly originally a kitchen, is a fine fireplace.
The upper chamber, from which a good view of Lunn's
Tower is obtained across the long, picturesque, and
weather-stained roof of the stables, is known as the
Queen's Chamber ; why, there is no record to tell, and
it is, therefore, probable that the name is a fanciful
one. The Warder's Room, which contains a fireplace,

'39

Warwickshire

and a large stone aumbry or recess, with a broken shelf,
and also a garderobe, is principally constructed in the
thickness of the wall, but projects to a slight extent on
its outer face. It is situated almost exactly midway
between the Water Tower and Mortimer's.

The great lake, mention of which has already been
made, was upwards of a hundred acres in extent, about
a hundred yards in width, ten or twelve feet in depth,
and extended round the castle on its southern and
western sides for a distance of nearly half a mile. The
second or smaller lake, which existed in medieval times
on the southern and eastern sides of the castle, was
drained by Leicester and converted by him into an
orchard.

Entering the castle buildings themselves from the
outer ward into the inner court, the huge impressive
pile of Caesar's Tower rises above one on the right,
with the ruins of Leicester's buildings opposite, on the
left. Once the inner court is entered, one has on the
left the Privy Chamber, Presence Chamber, and the
ruins of the suite of rooms used by Queen Elizabeth.

Immediately opposite the entrance to the inner
court are the ruined walls of the great hall, under which
is the postern leading out on to the ramparts by which,
in Walter Scott's Kenilworth, Wayland Smith was
ejected by Michael Lambourne. The outer path to
this postern cuts through the great bank on which the
hall is placed, and which was the inner boundary of the
moat of the older castle, the moat of which was what is
now a hollow space between it and the garden wall.

140

The Great Hall

It seems probable that this great mound of earth was
the buhr of the original Saxon owner. Other authorities,
however, suppose that the mound was the site occupied
by the keep.

The postern is a square -headed doorway, and
formerly had a portcullis, but this must have been
rather more for show than as able to afford any special
security, as the huge windows of the hall above would
have made the defence of this particular side of the
castle a matter of considerable difficulty.

Caesar's Tower, and the block of buildings con-
tiguous to it, are well seen from the point where the
postern gate and passage running under the Ban-
queting Hall open upon the inner court.

From the summit of the Strong Tower one has
a fine view of the surrounding country, and also of
the gardens, pleasance, and the remains of the Swan
Tower, now almost hidden in ivy and trees, the bottom
stage of which used probably to be anciently used for
the purposes of housing or feeding the swans in the
moat.

Immediately next to the Strong Tower is the Great
Hall, a magnificent though sadly ruined example of
domestic architecture of the period, measuring 90 feet
by 45 feet. It was originally approached by a broad
straight staircase on its north-eastern side, which led to
the portal or porch resting upon a vault. In this porch,
which is vaulted and groined and beautifully panelled,
with the hollows of the mouldings of the doorway
filled with exquisite foliated work, there is a small

141

Warwickshire

recess for the warder or usher. The floor of the hall
rested upon the vaulted roof of a magnificent cellar ;
the vaulting springing from ten piers arranged in
double rows at equal distances from the walls, and having
corresponding half-pillars against the walls themselves
and in the angles. The lighting of the hall above was
from large windows set in deep splayed recesses, with
wide stone window seats, three on the eastern and four
on the western side, each of two lights, divided by two
transoms and richly carved. There are the remains of
two large fireplaces, one on either side of the hall,
situated at about one-third of its length, measuring
from the south end ; and on the side next to the
inner court is a magnificent oriel, constructed of
five sides of an octagon, and formerly communicating
with the dais by an arch, and containing three large
windows of two lights, and a small one.

The roof of this fine hall was of open timbered
work, supported by five hammer beams on each side, the
holes for which are still visible between the windows,
the whole building forming a beautiful and very pure
specimen of Early Perpendicular work.

Such is a brief description of all that remains of this
once splendid medieval fortress, which was at the same
time a dwelling notable for its luxurious fittings and
the splendid entertainments that so frequently took
place within its walls. Situated almost ideally, it
possesses a wide prospect of fertile lands and wooded
vales, over which in ancient times the Lord of Kenil-
worth held sway. It is, indeed, lamentable that this

142

Vistas of Past Ages

fine castle should have aroused the destructive pro-
pensities of the Cromwellians, and should not have been
preserved, as have happily so many other medieval
buildings in the fair county of Warwick, much as it
was when knights and ladies trod its halls in stately
measure or revelry, and strolled on its terraces and
through its pleasances.

CHAPTER VII

LEAMINGTON

LEAMINGTON is charmingly situated in the heart of the
county, towards the eastern boundary of the wide
amphitheatre of gradually rising hills of which its
sister town of Warwick, distant but two miles from it,
is the centre. The oldest portion of the town is built
on the low-lying ground to the south side of the River
Learn, and was in former years known as the old town.
Modern Leamington, on the other hand, which is so
picturesque, and consists of fine villas, well -planned
streets and avenues, lies on the northern side of the
river, and has its origin from the time onwards when
the baths were first discovered and turned to good
account by local enterprise.

One of the most conspicuous charms of Leamington
is its profusion of foliage ; and close to some of its
main streets, and, indeed, bordering them, are beautiful
trees, all of which, from their variety, are seldom leaf-
less at one and the same time. The modern town at
the time of its inception was far more wisely laid out
than was usual in former days, for it is a place of

144

Hawthorne at Leamington

straight and wide avenues and streets, planned with
almost American precision.

To those who have never visited Leamington such
a description may not evoke any visions of beauty, but
the regularity which marks the laying out of the town
has been wisely tempered by the preservation and
planting, wherever possible, of rows of elms, lindens,
and plane trees, which not only break up the monotony
of streets, but impart to the town an almost garden-
like aspect. Notwithstanding, however, the fact that
in the byroads, streets, and avenues of the residential
quarters, more especially of Milverton and Lillington,
grass plats separate the footpaths from the road, adding
materially to the beauty and distinction of the place,
the business quarter is no less business-like than that
of other towns. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the American
novelist, has written enthusiastically of Leamington ;
and those who have resided in this beautiful spot all
the year round can testify that his statement, that it is
a place of charm which is " always in flower," is not
far from the truth.

The rise of Leamington has been of considerable
rapidity, as until the end of the eighteenth century it
was merely an obscure village, and in the year 1801
the population was only just over three hundred souls,
and the number of houses but sixty-seven.

Its full tide in former years was Leamington Priors,
derived from the fact that the town is built on the
banks of the River Learn, and once belonged to the
priors of Kenilworth. In modern days it has become

145 19

Warwickshire

known as Leamington Spa, the late Queen Victoria,
in memory of a visit she paid to the place in 1838,
giving it the title of the Royal Leamington Spa.

The town is very unlike in appearance its ancient
and more celebrated neighbour Warwick. In fact,
whilst the latter has its chief attraction in antiquity,
Leamington has its chief interest as a modern and
fashionable health resort. It is wrong, however, to
suppose that Leamington has no history, and is as
entirely modern as its appearance would lead one at
first sight to presume.

The name of the river upon which it stands is of
ancient Celtic origin, and means the elm-tree or elm-
bordered stream, and doubtless in ancient times it
was well-wooded for the greater part of its course
on both banks. There are many Celtic river names
to be met with in Warwickshire, and generally these
survivals have indicated an ancient settlement, or
at least camp of the invaders, although as regards
Leamington no traces of one now remain if it ever
existed.

The town was in ancient times a portion of the
very wide possessions of Turchill, the last and most
powerful of all the Saxon earls of Warwick. In the
Domesday Book the estate is put down as containing
two hides, or about two hundred acres of land, the
value of which was ^4. There is also a mention of
two mills situated on the stream within its boundaries.
Turchill's son was robbed of this part of his patrimony,
and it was granted by William the Conqueror to a

146

Ancient Leamington

Norman baron, Roger de Montgomery, who was after-
wards created Earl of Shrewsbury.

In those early days the town, or rather perhaps
should we say the hamlet, known as Leamington
underwent great vicissitudes of ownership, for although
Roger de Montgomery's son Hugh inherited the estates,
his brother Robert, to whom they descended during the
reign of William Rufus, called De Beleseme from the
name of a castle which belonged to him, was declared
a traitor, and all his possessions, including Leamington,
were seized, and the latter was given to the Bishop
of Lichfield and Coventry. After a few years the
possession of it passed to Geoffrey de Clinton, and was
by him granted to Gilbert Nutricius of Warwick and
his heirs, who held it by the service of half a knight's
fee. For some reason, however, it speedily reverted
to the De Clintons, and Geoffrey de Clinton, son of
the original owner, gave it to the canon and priors of
Kenilworth about the year 1166, in whose possession
it remained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
It remained the property of the Crown till 1563,
when Elizabeth granted it to Ambrose Dudley, Earl
of Warwick. He dying without an heir male, his
tide became extinct, and from this period Leamington
had many owners, ultimately coming into the possession
of the Earls of Aylesford.

Although Leamington in ancient times had its
vicissitudes, there is little of interest historically con-
cerning it until about the year 1784, when Abbotts
made the discovery of a second mineral spring, which

'47

Warwickshire

caused attention to be focussed on the medicinal
properties of the Leamington waters. It is doubtless
to the discovery of these springs, and others, may
be traced the fact that the town in the first years
of the nineteenth century began to be a place of
importance and fashion. Long before then Camden,
Speed, and Dugdale had mentioned prominently the
Leamington Waters ; and Fuller in 1662, referring to
the same subject, quaintly observes, "At Leamington,
two miles from Warwick, there issue out, within a
stride, [out] of the womb of the earth, two twin springs,
as different in taste and operation as Jacob and Esau
in disposition ; the one salt and the other fresh. This
the meanest countryman does plainly see by their
effects ; while it would puzzle a consultation of
physicians to assign the cause thereof."

Notwithstanding Fuller's opinion, medical writers
soon began to publish speculations concerning mineral
waters, and upon these very springs in particular. The
earliest pamphleteer upon record was Dr. Guidot in
1689, and he was succeeded by many others, including
Doctors Allen, Short, Johnson, Kerr, Kirwan, Middle-
ton, and Loudon. It was Dr. Allen who first settled in
the place, and Mr. William Abbotts, who, in 1786,
sunk the second well and erected and opened the first
baths in June of the same year. This well was almost
in the centre of the old village. The third spring or
the Road Well, is situated on the high road from
Warwick to Daventry and London, and was discovered
in 1790.

148

The Village Poet

Leamington was much patronised by those who either
were afflicted by real or fancied ailments, which the
waters might be hoped to cure, and the efforts of Dr.
Abbotts did much to popularise the place. In his
endeavour to spread abroad the fame of the place, he
was ably seconded by his friend Benjamin Satchwell,
the village poet and shoemaker, who had had the good
fortune, in 1784, to discover the well on a piece of
land in Bath Street.

Referring to the increased importance, size, and
prosperity of the town, Satchwell wrote : —

If Muster Abbotts had not done,
His baths of laud and praise ;
It must have been poor Leamington,
Now, as in former days.

These two men, no doubt, had much to do with the
initial stages of the town's prosperity, and on the tomb
of Satchwell may be traced, but with difficulty, as the
inscription is greatly obliterated : —

Hail the unassuming tomb,

Of him who told where health and beauty bloomed ;
Of him whose lengthened life improving ran —

A blameless, useful, venerable man.

The advocacy of these and other Leamingtonians
caused the town to advance rapidly into public favour,
and the discovery of other wells up till the year 1819
served to provide ample accommodation for bathers and
others, making the place one of the most famous health-
resorts in England.

149

Warwickshire

In these days, indeed, Leamington might well have
been called " The Bath of the Midlands," for to the
town were attracted much the same classes of invalids
and fashionable folk as were drawn to its more famous
Somersetshire prototype ; and, indeed, Leamington
must have been then even a gayer and more fashionable
town than it is at the present time.

From the Leamington of the last few years of the
eighteenth century to the flourishing town of to-day is,
indeed, a far cry. Then, according to one authority,
it was little more than a small sequestered village, to
which the mail-coaches came no nearer than Warwick,
and any letters or parcels for the inhabitants could only
be obtained by some enterprising villager going over to
the latter place for them.

And even in the first decade of the nineteenth
century Macready, the great actor, writes thus of the
place in his diary. Referring to Birmingham he
says : " The summer months were passed there,
diversified by a short stay at Leamington, then a small
village consisting only of a few thatched houses — not
one of them tiled or slated ; the Bowling Green being
the only one where very moderate accommodation could
be secured. There was in process of erection a hotel
of more pretention, which I fancy was to be the * Dog '
or l Greyhound,' but which had some months of work
to fit it for the reception of guests."

It was in the year 1819 that the Prince Regent,
afterwards George IV., visited Leamington from War-
wick, where he was staying with the Earl of Warwick ;

150

Famous Visitors

and three years later the Princess Augusta came to the
town to take a course of the waters, and from that time
the place may be considered to have been firmly
established in public favour. Quoting from a con-
temporary writer, " where but a few years earlier cattle
grazed undisturbedly, yellow corn waved, and the
plough-boy whistled over the Learn, we now behold
with surprise and pleasure extensive mansions arising
as if by magic, and tastefully decorated shops present-
ing every Metropolitan article of fashion and con-
venience."

Some other famous visitors who came to Leaming-
ton in the early years of the last century were the
Princess Victoria, in company with her mother the
Duchess of Kent ; and later John Ruskin, who testified
to the benefit derived from a six weeks' course of the
Chalybeate Spring as follows : " My health is in my
own hands, I have gone back to brown potatoes and
cherry pie ! "

But Leamington of to-day owes a good deal less of
its popularity to its springs than it does to its beautiful
situation, and the fact of it being such an excellent centre
for interesting excursions ; whilst hunting people regard
the place as an almost unequalled sporting district, from
the circumstance that a fashionable life can be enjoyed
there in conjunction with hunting six days a week, and
the choice of as many packs. Warwickshire, indeed, has
been called the third best hunting county in England,
and Leamington must take even a higher place as a
centre for hunting folk.

Warwickshire

One of the prettiest features of this town, dis-
tinguished nowadays for its handsome shops and villas,
are the Jephson Gardens, covering an area of some
twenty acres, and situated almost in the centre of the
town, the picturesqueness of which is greatly added to
by the presence of the River Learn skirting them along
the southern boundary. This site was rented to trustees
for a period of two thousand years at a pepper-corn rent
(if demanded) by the late Mr. Edward Willes, of New-
bold Comyn, with the stipulation that the ground
should never be built upon. The property, which was
then a strip of meadow land, was taken over by the
trustees in May 1846, and was immediately laid out by
them in much its present form.

On the opposite side of the river are the Mill
Gardens ; and on the same side of the river and along
its western circuit has been laid out a pretty Victoria
Park, with its picturesque New River Walk.

Still farther sylvan promenades are afforded by
the Pump Room Gardens. The grounds are several
acres in extent, and are beautifully laid out with
ornamental flower-beds and winding paths ; whilst on
the side next to the parade is the famous Linden
Avenue, three-quarters of a century old, and forming
one of the finest shady promenades in Leamington, or
indeed in any town of the Midlands.

Of ancient public buildings Leamington has practi-
cally none, if one excepts the reconstructed and much
altered Pump Room, once the scene of so much of the
fashionable life of the town.

152

Literary Associations

None of the other public buildings, with the excep-
tion of the Town Hall, call for particular notice.

There are not a few literary associations with
Leamington, and the Holly Walk, which is a continua-
tion of Regent Grove, a fine tree-lined avenue, will
always possess an interest for lovers of Dickens from
the fact that here the novelist laid the scene of the first
meeting between Edith Granger and Mr. Carker in
Dombey and Son. Scarcely a more picturesque spot
than this walk, with its row of fine trees running down
the centre, its grass plats, shady seats, and flower beds,
could be found for a meeting of the kind.

The old Bedford Hotel, which was the scene of one
of the famous Jack Mytton's most remarkable exploits,
when for a wager he rode his mare upstairs into the
dining-room, set her at the large table, which she cleared,
jumping over the heads of his assembled friends, and
then continued her course out of the balcony into the
street below, has long disappeared ; doubtless to the
regret of all hunting folk and of the curious sightseer.

Like Hawthorne, those who have visited Leamington
carry away with them pleasant memories of a town
which, although owing much to natural beauty of
situation, yet owes also not a little to the intelligence
and foresight of those responsible for its development,
who may be said to have coaxed rather than coerced
Nature in their efforts to make the spot one of un-
common rural and urban attractiveness, whilst still
mindful of the demands of exigent moderns.

153

20

CHAPTER VIII

THE STORY OF BIRMINGHAM

THE city of Birmingham has been sung by a local
poet as follows : —

Illustrious off-spring of Vulcanic toil !
Pride of the country ! Glory of the Isle !
Europe's grand toy shop ! arts' exhaustive mine
These, and more titles, Birmingham, are thine.
From jealous fears, from chartered fetters free,
Desponding genius finds a friend in thee ;
Thy soul as liberal as the breath of Spring,
Cheers his faint heart and plumes his flagging wing.

But, nevertheless, it presents more of a prosaic and
commercial than a romantic attraction for a writer.

The derivation of the name has not yet been
satisfactorily arrived at, and by even its most accurate
and painstaking historian is considered " too remote
for explanation." Aided by the erratic spelling of
former times, during the last four centuries alone there
have been eight modes of spelling it, — Burmyngham,
Bermyngham, Byrmyngham, Bermyngeham, Brumy-
chcham, Bromycham, Bromicham, and lastly the more

154

Derivation of Name

modern and generally accepted Birmingham. The
curious, however, may be set yet a greater puzzle of
selective ingenuity, as from different authors, docu-
ments, records, and papers it is possible to find upwards
of a hundred additional methods of spelling the name
of the town which is popularly known as " the capital
of the Midlands."

Of the eight ways we have enumerated in detail two
alone have been in a measure satisfactorily accounted
for ; one deriving its origin from a family, and the other
from the situation of the town. Early inhabitants and
even mere settlers of a place in almost every country
of the world were in the habit of describing in their
place-names, the mountain, lake and valley, the moor-
land and the heath, and also the character, situation,
and size of these ; and villages, towns, and cities
which grew up afterwards in these situations were
frequently given names which in a measure described
or perpetuated some place or object in their im-
mediate vicinity, or the actual spot where they were
founded.

Dugdale, the historian, is inclined to believe that
Birmingham, or Bromwycham, was a name given by
a Saxon owner or settler. In this regard he says, " The
appellation need not be doubted ; the last part of it,
viz. " ham," denoting a home or dwelling, and the
former manifesting itself to be a proper name."

Hutton, on the other hand, is inclined to make it of
an even more ancient date, and argues that " Brom,"
derived possibly from the broom, a shrub growing

155

Warwickshire

freely in the soil of the district, and " wych," signifying
a dwelling, constituted its original name Bromwych.
He finds, moreover, some confirmation of his opinion
from the names of two other towns in the immediate
neighbourhood, West Bromwych and Castle Bromwych ;
the terminal "ham," he argues, being subsequently
added, and up till the time of the Saxon Heptarchy
the spot retained its full name, " Bromwycham." This
argument, however, in reality seems to support
Dugdale's idea concerning the derivation of the name,
as all three portions of it are of Saxon origin. The
alteration locally to Bromicham was only a contraction,
which continued in use down till the eighteenth century,
and indeed is to be traced in the pronunciation of the
word as " Brumijum " by some locals even at the
present day. It would appear, however, that it is
more than possible, whatever its ancient name may
have been, and whatever its derivation, that the present-
day name " Birmingham " was given to the place from
the owner of the estate rather than the owner taking
his name from it.

This latter view has been borne out by modern
research, and it has been now generally admitted that
a family or tribe called " Beorm " or " Berm " gave
the place its early Saxon name. More than six
centuries ago, indeed, and for a period lasting four
centuries, we find the name of De Bermingham as
lords of the fee. The first was a Peter de Bermingham,
who in the reign of Henry II. in 1154 had a castle
here, and lived in considerable splendour. Here all

156

Ancient Birmingham

succeeding members of the family dwelt until the Duke
of Northumberland ousted them in 1537, and with
their ejectment the castle soon fell into ruins and
disappeared, although as late as 1816 a moat and
some traces of the walls remained.

In the days of Edward the Confessor the town
probably formed part of the possessions of Ulwin,
generally identified with the Alwyne whose son Turchill
founded the Warwickshire family of Arden, of whom
the mother of Shakespeare was a descendant. There
is no doubt that the place was of considerable im-
portance in Saxon times, as proof exists of the holding
of a market there prior to the Conquest.

Although there is no mention in the Domesday
Book of any church at that date, during the rebuilding
of St. Martin's in 1562, some early stonework, evidently
belonging to a former building and pointing to the
existence of a church dating from before the Conquest,
was discovered. Fairs were certainly held very early
in Birmingham's existence as a town, and in the
Bodleian Library, Oxford, is a curious MS. map dating
from the last years of the thirteenth century, with a
church clearly indicated, in addition to a considerable
number of houses. On this map, where the name
is given as "Brymingha," many neighbouring towns
of traditionally greater importance at that period are
not even marked, and neither Coventry nor Warwick
are named.

It would thus appear that in medieval times,
although Birmingham must have been a small town

157

Warwickshire

it was also a flourishing one, with a market for country
produce, cattle, hides, etc., which was visited not only
by local traders but by those of adjoining and even
distant counties.

In 1382 the Guild of the Holy Cross was founded
to maintain two priests at St. Martin's Church, and
was ten years later made a Fraternity of men and
women under the name of " the BailifFe and Com-
munalite of Birmingham and other adjacent places for
a Chantrie of Priestes, and services in the Church for
the souls of the Founders and all the Fraternitie." It
also had other and more secular objects. In the year
1545 the lands belonging to it were seized by the
Crown, and five years afterwards were given by
Edward VI. for the " Free Grammar School of King
Edward the Sixth, for the Education and Instruction
of Children in Grammar for ever." The property so
arbitrarily acquired was thus in the end devoted to
a useful purpose. At that time it was valued at
£31 :2 : 10, and this formed the endowment fund of
the famous school, the income of which at the close of
1880 amounted to the large sum of nearly £22,000,
and is now computed to be almost £50,000.

The manor-house and seat of the De Berming-
hams, not a trace of which now remains, was situated
within a few yards of St. Martin's Church, and a little
to the west of Digbeth, the site now being occupied by
the prosaic cattle-market of large extent.

Leland speaks of the town at the time of his visit,
which took place in 1538, thus: "The beauty of

158

Birmingham's Metal Workers

Birmingham, a good markett towne in the extreame
parts of Warwickshire, is one streete going up alonge
almost from the left rype (bank) of the brook, up a
meane hill, by the length of a quarter of a mile. I
saw but one Paroche Church in the towne."

Camden, who visited Birmingham some half century-
later, writes of it as " full of inhabitants, and resounding
with hammers and anvils, for the most of them are
smiths." "The lower part" (of the town), he adds,
" standeth very waterish ; the upper riseth with faire
buildings."

Some authorities seem to infer that Birmingham
was not noted for its metal works until a comparatively
recent period, but Leland states : " There be many
smithes in the town that used to make knives and all
mannour of cutting tooles, and many loriners that
make bittes and a great many naylors. Soe that a great
part of the town is maintained by smithes whoe have
their iron and seacole out of Staffordshire."

Hutton, Birmingham's most famous and completest
historian of the past, claims for this city, whose rise
has been so phenomenal during the last half century,
that history proves its progress has been continuous,
and that the town has never suffered a decline. But,
of course, during the centuries before Charles II. it
was slow, and only notable in comparison with that of
other places.

Although the town in Leland's day is spoken of as
having its chief beauty in " one streete going up alonge
from the left of the brook, up a meane hill, by the

159

Warwickshire

length of a quarter of a mile," and could have then
been but a comparatively small village, Hutton argues
that even in the days of the ancient Britons the smiths
of Birmingham supplied implements of war and hus-
bandry. It may even be possible, according to this
historian, that the scythes fixed to Boadicea's chariot
wheels had their genesis at a Birmingham forge. In
support of this theory he quotes that " upon the
borders of Aston parish stands Aston furnace, appro-
priated for melting iron-stone, and reducing it into
* pigs ' ; this has the appearance of great antiquity.
From the melting ore in this subterraneous region of
infernal aspect is produced a calx, or cinder, of which
there is an enormous mountain. From an attentive
survey the observer would suppose so prodigious a
heap could not accumulate in a hundred generations ;
however, it shows no perceptible addition in the age of
man."

Before Birmingham became famous for its manufac-
tures it was known for the great number of tanners
resident there ; and the hides which furnished a supply
for the rest of the county were laid out in the High
Street in piles on fine days ; and in wet weather were
deposited in the Leather Hall. This Leather Market
was identified with Birmingham in the tenth or eleventh
century, and continued until the beginning of the
eighteenth century ; and it was in this l High ' or main
street that early settlers manufactured coarse iron-
ware, nails, and similar articles. Hutton is inclined to
believe that in quite ancient times carpenters' tools as

1 60

LITTLE WOLFORD MANOR-HOUSE.

Hutton's Birmingham

well as spades, forks, and other implements of husbandry
were made here ; and that the worn hollow ways in
the roads that proceeded from Birmingham form
additional evidence of the town's antiquity and com-
mercial importance. He goes on to observe concerning
these rutted roads, " Though modern industry, assisted
by various Turn-pike Acts, has widened the upper
part and rilled up the lower, yet they were all visible in
the days of our fathers, and are traceable even in ours."

This painstaking historian places the ancient centre
of the town at Old Cross from the number of streets
which lead towards it, and the fact of the position of
St. Martin's Church. It is difficult, indeed, when
contemplating modern Birmingham with its fine streets,
magnificent public buildings, and general appearance
of wealth, industry, and prosperity, to realise that the
ancient houses were of a type similar to those at
Shrewsbury and Chester. Built principally of timber,
with the space between the beams wattled and plastered
over with mortar ; others of slightly more recent date
being of bricks and plaster.

The first streets that were paved are said to have
been High Street, the Bull Ring, Corn Cheaping,
Digbeth, St. Martin's Lane, Egbaston Street, Moat
Lane, Spiceal Street, and part of Moor Street, and the
streets where the fairs were held. These formed the
boundaries of the town in the thirteenth century ; and
from this period onwards there was a distinct and
gradual increase of area and also of improvements of
an uninterrupted character.

161 21

Warwickshire

The most stirring event in the history of Birmingham
itself was the attack made upon it by Prince Rupert
on April 5, 1643, during the Civil War. It created
an immense amount of additional antagonism towards
the Cavaliers on the part of the inhabitants, whose
sympathies from the outset of the quarrel between
King and Parliament had been with the latter.

The town was at that period but a small one of
about 6000 inhabitants. But it had caused the King's

o

party much trouble by having on several occasions in-
tercepted messengers between the scattered Royalist
forces. These messengers were sent to Coventry
and imprisoned. Prince Rupert's attack was chiefly
prompted by two reasons : the desire for plunder
and the intention to frustrate the completion of
the fortifications and earthworks the inhabitants had
commenced. He apparently anticipated only slight
resistance.

The attack was commenced between two and three
in the afternoon ; two assaults were repulsed, but
eventually the Royalist horse forced an entry. The
Cavaliers rode through the town, with the Earl of
Denbigh at their head, " like so many furies." People
were shot at their windows, at their doors, and in the
streets. Having possessed themselves of the town
the Royalists commenced to pillage it. Next day on
leaving the town they set fire to it in many places.

The effect of all this harshness naturally was to
make the Birmingham folk even more Parliamentarian
than before.

162

The Plague

The history of Birmingham appears to have been
uneventful for more than twenty years after the
memorable visit of Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers.
And the next happening of any great moment was the
outbreak of the plague in 1665, which was said to
have been brought to the town in a box of clothes by a
carrier, which he deposited at the White Hart Inn. The
visitation seems to have been a severe one, for it was
found impossible to inter the victims in the usual
burying-ground, and a full acre of land was set aside
at Lady Wood Green (known for many years after as
the " pest " ground) for the reception of those who
had died of the plague. The town soon, however,
appears to have recovered from this misfortune, and
made, during the ensuing years, from the time of
the Restoration to the commencement of the eighteenth
century, a period of forty years, a progress which can
scarcely be considered as otherwise than remarkable,
demonstrated by figures given by Hutton, the accuracy
of which has never been impuned.

At the Restoration the number of streets appears
to have been fifteen, though all were not com-
plete ; whilst there were some 907 houses and 5472
inhabitants. In the year 1 700 the streets had increased
in number to 28, the houses to 2504, and the in-
habitants to 15,032. Thirty-one years later the streets
had doubled, the houses had nearly doubled, and the
inhabitants had increased almost in the same propor-
tion ; whilst at the commencement of the last decade
of the eighteenth century the streets had quadrupled

163

Warwickshire

from the last figures, the houses had done the same,
and the inhabitants had increased in like ratio.

But only ten years later Birmingham saw one of
the few periods of temporary decline, when, owing to
the stagnation in trade, consequent upon the French
war, the population decreased nearly 4000 ; and the
entry of many younger men of Birmingham into the
army, and the exodus of masters and journeymen, left
upwards of 1500 houses uninhabited. Notwithstand-
ing the set-back caused by the war, only seven years
later there was a distinct revival and reaction, and nearly
2000 additional houses were erected, with an increase of
population more than sufficient to occupy them, as well
as all the other houses which had fallen vacant.

In the latter half of the seventeenth century
Birmingham made remarkable strides, and during this
period sprang up an increasing demand for many of
the articles manufactured there, and the firearm trade
soon became a very important and lucrative one.
Hampered by no charters or ancient Corporative
customs, the town attracted to itself reformers of all
kinds, and also skilled workmen, drawn hither by the
freedom of manufacture which existed. The iniquitous
" Five Mile " and similar Acts had served to drive
many wealthy and able men out of corporate towns. In
Birmingham these found a " city of refuge," with fewer
restrictions ; and with their coming the industrial
energy and initiative of the town was greatly and
speedily increased. During the eighteenth century
these forces were continuously at work, and in the

164

The Soho Works

latter half the fullest development was attained and
manufactures of all kinds, including iron, hardware, brass,
steel, and other articles became wonderfully advanced.

Not a little of this prosperity was undoubtedly
directly traceable to the practice which obtained of
letting large portions of land at low ground rents and
on long leases ; thereby giving notable encouragement
to the erection of buildings, both residential and com-
mercial, in the centre of the town and in the contiguous
suburbs.

Quite early in the century cotton spinning by
machinery had been introduced and tried by Lewis
Paul and John Wyatt, and somewhere about 1780 a
cotton mill was built, but only to prove an unsuccessful
experiment, afterwards to be converted into one for
metal rolling.

One of the truly great events in the history of
Birmingham of this period — nay, of any period — was
the foundation by Matthew Boulton of the famous
Soho works in 1763. He possessed unbounded enter-
prise, enthusiasm, and taste, and his original business
in Birmingham itself as a " toy-maker," manufacturing
sword-hilts, buckles, brooches, and other ornaments,
increased rapidly, and he was compelled to transfer it
to larger and better premises. It was to Boulton that
James Watt ultimately came in despair at not being able
to get his newly invented steam-engine well and care-
fully made. As events proved, he had come to the
right man, and an engine factory, from which the
whole world was eventually supplied, was speedily

165

Warwickshire

erected. The partnership lasted many years ; Boulton,
who was a skilled mechanic, was also, above all, a good
business man — which Watt was not — and but for him
it is more than probable that the inventor would have
failed to attain either practical or financial success and
recognition.

Of this great workshop of Soho, one of the greatest
early factors in Birmingham's ultimate triumph as a
manufacturing and industrial centre, Boulton is reputed
to have said, " I supply here what all the world desires
to have — Power." And the founder of Soho, through
stormy and even occasionally dangerous times, doggedly
persevered, and by great powers of initiative and control
secured for himself and for Watt large fortunes, and
did much to assist in the general and speedy progress
of the town by the invention of machinery and the
practical application of the " new power."

But Boulton, who has left so deep a mark upon
Birmingham history of his time, was by no means a
mere ingenious manufacturer and good business man.
He was a magnetic and personal force, which gathered
around him and attracted to Soho from all parts of
the world men of genius, scientists, and others. The
" Soho circle " or " Lunar Club," called the latter from
the fact that it met only when there was a full moon,
on account of the ill-lit and dangerous condition of the
streets, was one of the most famous institutions of its
kind of the age, and, indeed, probably of any succeed-
ing age.

To his house at one time or another came many men

1 66

" The Golden Age "

destined to prove famous or who were already so. Dr.
Darwin ; William Murdock, the inventor of — amongst
other things — gas-lighting for houses ; Priestly, with
his keen brain and recent discoveries ; John Baskerville,
with his type, paper, and printing, which " astonished the
Librarians of Europe " ; Dr. Withering, the noted
botanist ; Joseph Berington, the Roman Catholic
historian ; and many others who brightened and made
notable what may fairly be called " the golden age " of
Birmingham's eighteenth - century progress, and who
were the initiators of the advances made in after years.

The great Soho works, in the history of which is,
in fact, enshrined much of that relating to the early
days of engineering, have passed away ; the engine
factory having been removed to Smethwick in 1848,
after the death of Jarnes Watt, the son of the inventor.
The site on which Boulton's house stood is now
occupied by streets and terraces of unromantic houses.
But the memory of Soho lingers in the name of an
open space, and in that of streets and roads.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the desire
to modernise Birmingham and to erect buildings with
some pretension to architectural beauty seemed to
have concerned the inhabitants, and we read, the town
" is daily improving in the style of her buildings ;
there are now architects of the first eminence in the
town, and others rapidly rising into notice."

The progress of Birmingham during the latter half
of the nineteenth century has been wonderfully steady
and marked.

167

Warwickshire

Of the ancient town there are nowadays scarcely any
survivals ; certainly few buildings of any public char-
acter, although " the mansion house of tymber " which
Leland saw and specially mentioned, still remains in
the guise of the " Old Crown Inn," with several other
quaint, timbered houses in the district of Deritend.

In the old Bull Ring, an historic spot used in former
times for the sport of bull baiting, stands St. Martin's
Church, the most notable and authentic building in
Birmingham, for the modern building erected in 1872-
75, at the cost of a sum of nearly £30,000, stands on the
site of a Norman church of undoubted antiquity. In
this ancient fabric, during the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, many additions and alterations were effected,
and the walls of the old church were formerly plenti-
fully adorned with frescoes, representing amongst other
scenes St. Martin on horse-back giving part of his
cloak to a beggar.

Nowadays the only portion of the old church still
standing is in the tower, but there are some fine altar
tombs with recumbent figures of the old lords of
Birmingham in the chancel. One is believed to be that
of the third William de Bermingham, who was at the
siege of Belgrade in France in 1297, and was taken
prisoner there. There are also many other interesting
and important memorials, and some extremely fine
modern stained glass by the late William Morris.

St. Philip's Church, which occupies a fine site
fronting on Colmore Row, has an importance other
than its architecture from the fact that it is now the

1 68

St. John's, Deritend

pro-Cathedral. Finely situated, this handsome building
has an added grace and importance from its elevated
and isolated position. The church stands upon
ground which was originally part of a farm called
Horse Close, afterwards Barley Close, and the land
was given by one Robert Phillips and the church named
after the saint and also the founder. It was com-
menced in 1711 from designs by Thomas Archer, a
pupil of John Vanbrugh, who was also the architect
for the church of St. John, at Westminster. The
building was consecrated in 1715, although not finished
till four years later. It is said to have cost only
£5000.

The church of St. John at Deritend possesses a
somewhat remarkable history. It is a chapel in the
parish of Aston, and was the one referred to by Leland
as "a propper chappel " in 1538. At that date it was
a picturesque and interesting Early English building,
which unhappily was demolished about a century ago,
and re-erected in the form of an uninspiring structure
of Georgian plainness in brick. It contains the bust
of John Rogers, a native of the district, who was the
first martyr in the days of the Marian persecution.
The original church was founded in 1375 by thirteen
persons, who had found themselves on many occasions
unable to reach the mother church at Aston owing to
floods. These provided between them a handsome
endowment in lands, worth at that time ten marks
(about £6:13:4, and nowadays some £450), the
original Charter and Licence in Mortmain are in the

169 22

Warwickshire

Reference section of the Public Library, and bear dates
1381 and 1383.

The chaplain was formerly strangely elected by
household suffrage, both men and women voting.
The last election was in 1889, when a fierce contest was
waged and continued for over a month in thorough-
going electioneering style, ultimately thinning out the
candidates to two in number, who went to the final
poll, which lasted a day.

Roman Catholicism has a strong following in the
city, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral, dedicated to
St. Chad, a seventh-century Bishop of Lichfield, is a
large and handsome though modern building. Erected
from designs by A. W. Pugin in 1839-41 in the
Decorated style, it forms one of the principal churches
of Birmingham. In it are some fine modern stained
glass ; a sixteenth-century carved oak pulpit brought
from Lou vain ; and the remains of its dedicatory
saint, which are traditionally stated to have been
removed from Lichfield Cathedral at the time of the
Reformation, and more or less miraculously preserved,
and ultimately brought here.

The new era of the town's history, progress, and
wealth began in 1875, when the late Joseph Chamberlain
was elected Mayor.

It is impossible in so brief a sketch as is possible
within the scope of the present volume to deal in detail
with the many reforms, the growth and commercial ex-
pansion which the last forty years have brought about.
Birmingham of to-day, with its magnificent Town

170

Generous Benefactors

Hall, Council House, Museum, and Art Gallery,
containing some notable modern as well as older
pictures, and a fine collection of the work of the pre-
Raphaelite School ; Free Library ; Mason University
College ; Great Western Arcade ; Midland Institute ;
Edward VI. 's Grammar School, the ancient foundation
nowadays housed in a modern building by Sir Charles
Barry, R.A., in the Tudor style ; Bluecoat School,
founded in 1727 for the education of orphans of both
sexes ; and many other important commercial, educa-
tional, and social institutions, and its fine parks, may be
said to represent a modern city of unique convenience
and considerable structural beauty.

Birmingham, too, has not been without generous
benefactors, to whom it owes a debt not easily repaid.
To all who know anything of the city's history the
names of the Rylands, Jaffray, Tangye, Feeny, and
Colmore families will at once occur.

About modern Birmingham there is indeed a
spaciousness and air of modernity which strikes the
visitor almost from the first moment of his introduc-
tion to the town ; and although essentially a trade
centre, there certainly hangs about this city, which has
owed in later years so much to the energy, wisdom,
and enterprise of such men as John Thackray Bunce,
Joseph Chamberlain, Josiah Mason, George Dawson,
George Tangye, Samuel Timmins, and Philip Henry
Muntz, a certain element of even romantic interest,
which, however, is that attaching to modern industry
rather than to survivals of ancient greatness.

171

Warwickshire

Naturally so great an industrial centre as Birmingham
played a great and even distinguished part in the Great
War. Very early in the struggle the city became one
of the most important munitions centres in the Kingdom.
Situated in the heart of England, and far distant from
the sea coast, it seemed peculiarly suited for the site of
a great national arsenal, quite irrespective of the fact
that for many years the manufacture of guns and other
weapons of war had formed a part of its most prosper-
ous industrial life.

Although Zeppelins in several of their wanderings
over the face of England, intent upon inflicting injury
upon this home of war-time industry, are reported to
have hovered over Birmingham, no considerable material
damage resulted.

Within a very short time of Mr. Lloyd George
assuming the reins of Government and the responsibility
for the supply of the vast quantities of munitions which
were found necessary for an energetic and successful
prosecution of the war to final victory, Birmingham
became one immense area of feverish war activity.
Factories which in times of peace were employed in the
production of agricultural implements for use through-
out the world ; the making of " Birmingham " jewellery ;
the provision of " trade " articles for barter with the
uncivilised tribes of Central Africa, New Guinea, the
South Seas, and elsewhere were speedily adapted for the
more sinister purposes of the great conflict in which
almost the whole of the civilised world found itself
gradually becoming more or less directly involved.

172

The Great War

Birmingham was engaged in beating its ploughshares
into machine-guns, and its reaping hooks into bayonets,
an inversion of the Biblical dream picture of the arts of
peace.

Munitions were turned out in such vast quantities
that the human mind cannot grasp their sum. Small
arms ammunition by the thousand million rounds,
shells in their millions, machine-guns in their thousands,
and materials raw and otherwise of all kinds for
munitions of war and clothing poured constantly from
the factories of the city.

A darkened city it was !

But behind shuttered and curtained windows there
was all the time unceasing work, the colossal output was
maintained, and the titanic struggle of human brains,
sinews, muscles, and sheer endurance went on.

In a word, Birmingham took its place among the
foremost cities of sacrifice in the Empire she played so
great a part to save.

The appeal to her manhood, her womanhood, her
patriotism was never made in vain, whether it was for
munitions made by tens of thousands of tons, or for
money with which to assist national finance by way of
munificent subscriptions to Loans, and the purchase of
many hundreds of thousands of War Savings Certificates.

And the records of Birmingham men, in the
Warwickshire and other regiments which covered them-
selves with " an eternal weight of glory " in the field,
will form a noble page in national history as long as
time endures.

'73

CHAPTER IX

THE STORY OF SOME ANCIENT MANOR-HOUSES BADDESLEY

CLINTON PACKINGTON OLD HALL MAXSTOKE

CASTLE ASTLEY CASTLE

IN the north-western portion of the county lies a
group of historic houses and churches which present
many unique features. One of the most interesting of
these, distant some seven miles from Warwick and
situated amidst lovely scenery, is Baddesley Clinton, a
typical old moated manor-house, such as a few years ago
was associated in Christmastide publications with stories
of ghosts and midnight villainy. This exquisite survival
of ancient domestic architecture is a low-built house
with grey stone walls, timbered gables, and battlemented
parapets. It forms an unusually fine specimen of the
old fortified manorial dwellings dating from the fifteenth
century, and nowadays, alas ! becoming fewer and fewer
by reason of destruction by fire or the exigencies of the
times.

During its early history the manor appears to have
had several owners. From the middle of the thirteenth
century, for a period of about a hundred years, it be-

Baddesley Clinton

longed to the Clinton family of Coleshill, becoming in
the last years of the fifteenth century the property of
one Nicholas Brome, at whose death it passed in 1517
to his daughter and co-heiress, Constantia, who had
married in 1497 Sir Edward Ferrers, a grandson of
William Lord Ferrers of Groby, in which family the
estates have ever since remained. It is the boast of the
family that their ancestry came over with the Conqueror,
and there is little doubt that the boast is no idle one.

The Ferrers family of Baddesley Clinton are de-
scended from the second son of the Earl who met his
death so unromantically on the bridge at St. Neots ;
Groby passing into the hands of the Greys. A
younger son of the Ferrers of Tamworth was the
father of Sir Edward Ferrers, who by marriage with
Constance Brome became the possessor of Baddesley
Clinton.

During the Civil War Baddesley Clinton, although
its owners appear to have sided neither with the King
nor the Parliament, was plundered by the forces of the
latter ; and in a MS. of the period one finds a state-
ment of some of the booty which was acquired by the
Roundheads. This included a grey and a bright bay
horse, which were led away by the troopers, one of
them with a rich plush saddle trimmed round about
the skirts with gold lace and gold fringe ; arms and
armour ; gunpowder ; cash taken from a desk ; a
Geneva Bible, and even the linen from the drying
room ! But the family appear to have succeeded in
maintaining their neutral attitude, and at the Restora-

175

Warwickshire

tion were still in quiet enjoyment of their estates ;
which, however, had become smaller, and from the fact
of their fidelity to Roman Catholicism were little likely
in succeeding centuries to be added to.

The last squire of the line was Marmion Edward
Ferrers, a noted antiquarian who lived quietly at
Baddesley Clinton, and died leaving no heir ; his widow
married a second time Edward Heneage Dearing, Esq.,
the present owner of the property.

As was the case with most manor-houses of ancient
times, and more especially with those belonging to
Catholic families, there were several secret hiding-places
at Baddesley Clinton, constructed for the salvation of
the ministering Romish priests, or for other fugitives in
times of need. Near the chapel is a well-like shaft of
stone, formerly provided with steps or projecting stones,
by means of which a fugitive was able to reach a
secret passage extending round nearly the whole length
of two sides of the house, and giving access to a small
water-gate opening on the moat, at which a boat was
kept at hand for use in cases of emergency. On the
eastern side of the building adjoining the banqueting
room is a secret chamber some six feet square, which
has a bench running round it. This of recent years has
been walled up, but the narrow staircase leading to it
behind the wainscoting remains in its original condi-
tion.

There are probably other chambers in this ancient
building, the existence of which may possibly at some
future time be descovered quite by accident, as have so

176

ANNE. HATHAWAY S COTTAGK.

The Old Mansion

many other hiding-places in similar houses throughout
the country.

The house, one of the most ancient in Warwick-
shire, is approached by a brick bridge of two arches
crossing the moat, and the entrance is through an arch-
way under an embattled tower, which although giving
a distinction to this, the north-eastern front of the
building, is apparently of no great age. The door is
an ancient one, studded thickly with iron bolts, guarding
the house at the inner end of the bridge ; the stabling
being at the outer end and separate from the house.

The building within the bounds of the moat forms
three sides of a quadrangle, which encloses a quaint
garden with paths running between close-mown turf
and clipped yew bushes. The old mansion is rich in
beautiful panelled rooms and wonderful carved mantel-
pieces. On the left-hand side of the entrance to
the house itself is an anteroom leading to the great
Hall. In this beautiful oak-panelled chamber is an
unusually handsome Renaissance fireplace of carved
stone, dating from the middle of the seventeenth
century, and ornamented with seven shields of the
family arms painted on the stone-work, the last
shield commemorating the marriage of Edward Ferrers
and Ann Peyto in 1 6 1 1 . The chief features of
the room, however, are the heraldic devices of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which adorn the
windows ; an old seventeenth century cabinet of quaint
design, the front of which is divided into twenty small
panels and ornamented with groups of cupids, nymphs,

177 23

Warwickshire

and satyrs ; several dower chests ; and a silver twisted
horn, traditionally stated to date from the year 1400,
and to have been presented to the Lord de Ferrers of
that time by the French Ambassador at the Court of
King Henry IV. There is also an interesting leather
bottle fished out of the moat a few years ago ; and an
old buff leather coat which may have been a relic of
the unwelcome visitation made by the Parliamentarians
during the Civil War.

The drawing-room is panelled oak and has oaken
benches in the recesses of the window, and is rendered
notable by the large carved oak fireplace, which is
ornamented by the arms of the Ferrers of Groby. In
this room, too, is a fine portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh,
attributed by several authorities to Marc Garrard.

In the southern angle of the hall is a handsome
staircase leading to the enclosed gallery running round
the inner part of three sides of the house, and giving
access to the upper story rooms.

The State bedroom, which contains a very fine
and elaborately carved chimney-piece, reaching from
the floor to the ceiling, is on the left of the staircase,
and this room is finely panelled in oak, as are so many
of the others of this most interesting house.

In the Oratory or domestic chapel of the house is
a most curious and interesting Flemish Sanctus bell,
dating from 1555, and having on it a small incised
female effigy, supposed to represent the wife or
daughter of Nicholas Brome ; there is also an inscrip-
tion, IHESVS ES MINEN NAEM.

178

The Ghost Room

The banqueting hall of the house is situated over
the gateway, and is a fine room lighted by a mullioned
window, and containing some good and very ancient
oak carving and panelling, and also some beautiful
tapestry. Unfortunately the high pitched roof of
open timber -work has been covered by a plaster
ceiling.

A touch of romance still hangs about the adjoining
room, which is the library, but is traditionally known
as the " Ghost Room," and was in former times popularly
supposed to be haunted, possibly by the spirit of
Nicholas Brome or that of the parish priest he found,
according to Dugdale, "chocking his wife under the
chin, whereat he was so enraged that he presently kil'd
him." For this offence the murderer had to obtain
the King's pardon and also the Pope's, who enjoined
him to do something towards expiation of his crime.
In pursuance of this mandate he built the " tower-
steeple," and bought three bells for it, as well as
carrying out other additions and alterations to the
thirteenth-century church of Baddesley.

In the church are many monuments of the Bromes
and Ferrers, and also some beautiful and ancient stained
glass in the east window. In connection with the
manor of Baddesley Clinton there is an interesting
entry in the Manor Rolls, recording that the Shakespeare
family held lands in Baddesley as early as 1389, and it
is possible that these were the remote ancestors of the
poet himself.

It seems not improbable that much of the oak

179

Warwickshire

panelling and most of the carved mantelpieces in the
house were placed there by Edward Ferrers, son of the
antiquarian, about the middle of the seventeenth century,
or perhaps rather earlier. The decorations within the
house make plain for the student of architecture, and
to the eyes of the skilled antiquarian, the three chief
periods of its history. The outer walls are those of
the ancient home of the Bromes, as it came into
possession of the Ferrers family ; but inside the house
are many evidences of the money spent in its fittings
and beautifying by Edward Ferrers towards the middle
part of the seventeenth century. Then there is the
last period, comprising the black and white timber-
work and other restorations carried out by Captain
Dering, who found on his accession to the property the
building suffering from the ravages of both age and
neglect.

Few manor-houses in Warwickshire possess greater
charms than Baddesley Clinton, and the views from the
upper windows into the ivy-covered courtyard, with its
wealth of flower-beds and blossom, are charming to a
degree.

Some eight miles north-east of Baddesley Clinton,
through a stretch of pretty country, lies Packington
Park, famous for its ancient oaks, and made unusually
picturesque by the presence of its sheets of ornamental
water. Packington Hall is now the seat of the Earl of
Aylesford, a substantial building, set amid a pleasant
park, built by Sir Clement Fisher in 1693, and enlarged
and faced with stone three-quarters of a century later.

1 80

Maxstoke Castle

About a mile to the north-east of Maxstoke Priory lies
Maxstoke Castle, surrounded by fine trees, so retired
that its very existence might be unsuspected by those
who pass along the road at the foot of the avenue.

Few houses in England can be exactly compared with
this wonderfully preserved survival of medieval times,
which is set in so picturesque a position, surrounded
by trees of a deer park of considerable size. All who
have visited Maxstoke are agreed concerning the almost
unique interest that this ancient fortified residence
possesses for students of architecture and of the
manners and customs of past ages. In Maxstoke,
indeed, there is little to break the medieval spell which
seems to hang so closely about its time-worn walls, and
be so in keeping with its retired situation. As one
approaches it by the fine avenue of elms leading, for
the last portion of it, in a straight line to the gate-
house and bridge, one almost, indeed, expects to see
watchers upon the twin towers, and to find one's ingress
barred by closely-shut doors and lowered portcullis.

A beautiful survival of a past age, now the residence
of the Tangye family, whose name is so intimately
connected with the neighbouring city of Birmingham,
the house has been closely identified with many historic
names and strenuous deeds of English history.

It dates from the period when the great and strongly
fortified castles — more fortresses, indeed, than residences
—were giving place to dwelling-houses, well-defended,
it is true, but which, though still protected by walls,
towers, and even drawbridges and portcullises, were

181

Warwickshire

yet an indication of the change bound to come when
such defences became unnecessary.

The foundations of the Castle, which is completely
enclosed within an embattled enceinte, and is protected
by a deep and broad moat and defended by strong
angle towers, were laid by William de Clinton under a
licence from Edward III. in 1345. The great entrance,
a survival of the old barbican, is beneath or rather
between two tall and formidable towers ; the ancient
drawbridge having been replaced by a stone bridge
crossing the moat, and leading from the avenue of
elms to the courtyard. But although both drawbridge
and portcullis are gone, the grooves in which the latter
was lowered still remain, as do the ancient oaken doors
scarred by the weather of centuries, and perhaps by
evidences of attack. The Castle itself lies in one of
the most beautiful districts of England, almost midway
between Birmingham and Coventry.

At Maxstoke in ancient times resided a family of
the name of Oddingsells, who were evidently of great
importance in the district, as they possessed all the
feudal privileges of gallows and tumbril, and assay
of bread and beer. Edmund Oddingsells, who died
without issue in Edward I.'s reign, had, however, several
sisters, to whom he left his property ; Ida the eldest
having Maxstoke for her share, which passed to John
de Clinton on her marriage with him.

This John de Clinton was one of the great barons
of his time, and he accompanied Edward I. on his
invasion of Scotland in 1296, and for his assistance

182

William de Clinton

had conferred on him some of the possessions of
Malcolm Drummond. Thus it is seen Maxstoke in
very early times became identified with the doings of
men who played a conspicuous part in the affairs of
their country. The mother of Ida, the wife of John
de Clinton, was Elizabeth, daughter of the famous
William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury. John de Clinton
left two sons, the second of whom was the builder of
the castle in its present form, although there un-
doubtedly was an older house standing on the site, of
which some fragments have been discovered incorporated
into the base of the existing building.

William de Clinton was a man of note, for he held
the office of Justice of Chester, Constable of Dover
Castle, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Admiral of
the Western Seas. He also had the custody of the
King's forests from the Trent southward ; and in 1337
was made Earl of Huntingdon. By his will, dated
1354, the Castle was left to his nephew, a Sir John de
Clinton, for whom he appears to have designed it.
This John de Clinton was the son of his elder brother
John, and was, therefore, the grandson of the first
possessor of Maxstoke of the Clinton line. The
family were barons by writ, and the new owner was a
soldier, who had fought through the French war, and
was present at Poitiers and other battles, and was
also at one time Constable of Windsor Castle. His
grandson, who succeeded him, was known as Lord Say,
his mother, the first wife of Sir John de Clinton, having
been Idonia, the sister and heiress of William de Say.

Warwickshire

Lord Say was, like his grandfather, a soldier, and
proved a great benefactor to Maxstoke Priory. He
was succeeded by his son, another John, who in 1437
exchanged the castle with Humphrey, Earl of Stafford,
for other manors in Northamptonshire, the reason for
which exchange is not known.

The last of the De Clintons of Maxstoke was also a
soldier, who had the misfortune to be captured in the
French war and to suffer a long term of imprisonment.
Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, the new owner of
Maxstoke, who was made a Knight of the Garter in
1429, and was created Duke of Buckingham in 1444,
was Lieutenant Governor of Normandy and Calais, and
Ambassador to France. He had also another dis-
tinction conferred upon him, that of precedence before
all other Dukes who might thenceforward be created,
excepting only descendants of the King. He was a
warm supporter of the Lancastrian cause and, owing
to his marriage with Margaret Beaufort, daughter and
heiress of Edmund Duke of Somerset, was related
to the Royal House. He fell at the battle of
Northampton, July 10, 1460, when leading the Lan-
castrian forces, one of his sons having been killed
at the battle of St. Albans five years previously ; and
he proved on his death a great benefactor to the
destitute poor, some of whom he directed should carry
tapers at his funeral, and pray for the repose of his
soul.

It was Buckingham who strengthened the oaken
doors of Maxstoke by sheets of iron bearing his arms

184

Buckingham and Maxstoke

and supporters, and also the " burning nave and knot,"
which was the ancient badge of the house.

It does not appear that Buckingham made Maxstoke
by any means his chief residence, but the names of
many of the constables he appointed, and of those who
came after him, have been placed on record.

The castle and estates were forfeited by the second
Duke and have had during its history many owners.

The dwelling-house occupies the north-west angle
of the inner court. It is a partly timbered house,
the front portion having been rebuilt in the seventeenth
century, and some changes have been made since that
date.

At the south end of the Great Hall was formerly
the chapel, the west window of which, in the late
Decorated period, still remains. The kitchen was some-
what strangely placed adjoining this, and communication
between it and the hall must have been carried on
across the chapel, the lower part of which is nowadays
used as a butler's pantry, and the upper part a corridor
to the Great Hall. In the chapel the marriage of
John Talbot, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury, and
Catherine, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, took
place in 1457.

The great Baronial Hall-, with a dais at one end, is
on the first floor, and forms a handsome apartment
lighted by three windows. On the west side there is
a fine carved mantelpiece of coloured stone, ornamented
with the numerous quarterings of the Dilke family,
and bearing the following quaint inscriptions : —

185 24

Warwickshire

Pennatus Sidera Morte
Where no woode is. No tale-bearers,

Ye fire goeth out ; Strife ceaseth.

The room contains some good pictures, amongst
which is a full-length portrait of Charles II. by Sir
Peter Lely. In the hall are also some interesting
relics of former times, such as stone cannon balls, iron
balls, pipe bowls found in the moat, some fine armour,
and a pair of jack-boots worn by one of the family at
the Battle of the Boyne.

The Oak Drawing-Room is a beautiful apartment,
distinguished by a magnificently carved mantelpiece,
and a unique carved doorway forming a sort of inner
porch, and with the door very deeply panelled. There
is in this room a curious picture of the last jester of
Maxstoke, 1681, one Tom Grainger, who is depicted
with an owl perched on his shoulder, and pipe in hand.

A relic which never fails to interest the visitor is
an antique oak chair, which tradition states was brought
from an old house at Bosworth Field. It bears on the
brass plate attached to it the following inscription :
" In this chair King Henry VII. was crowned at
Bosworth Field, A.D. 1485."

The Tower Drawing-Room is also oak panelled, and
contains a fine mantelpiece. Above it is the bedroom
known as Henry VII. 's ; and over that again is the
top tower bedroom, from which beautiful views of
the park and moat are to be obtained.

The Dining-room on the ground floor contains a
sideboard which is stated to have been made out of a

186

Astley Castle

tree at which Oliver Cromwell practised marksmanship
in Coleshill Park, and also some interesting portraits
of the Fetherstons and Fetherstonhaughs.

Scarcely a room at Maxstoke but contains some-
thing either in its decorations or its furniture of great
interest ; and, indeed, it is a matter for congratulation
on the part of all those interested in architectural
survivals and the preservation of historic houses that the
castle presents in this twentieth century so interest-
ing and perfect an example of the fortified manor-houses
of ancient times. Maintained, let it be added, with all
the loving care which such a unique treasure-house of
antiquity deserves.

Some six miles to the north-east of Maxstoke is
situated Astley Castle, prettily placed in Arbury Park.
Although known as a castle, it is in reality rather an
example of the defensive manor-house which came
into being when residences of a more formidable
nature had become no longer necessary. The house
is surrounded by a moat, which is picturesquely over-
hung with foliage, and spanned by a bridge admitting
to the house through an arched gateway.

Within a mile and a half of the church, and reached
by a lovely avenue through Hawk's Wood, is South
Farm, where, on November 22, 1819, was born Mary
Ann Evans, afterwards to become famous as " George
Eliot." The building is quite a small farm-house,
having one bay and a gabled east wing, and is coated
with rough cast. It stands pleasantly situated a little
distance on the right of the Park Road to Griff.

187

Warwickshire

" George Eliot's " father, Mr. Robert Evans, was
agent for the Arbury Estate, and the family afterwards,
whilst the future novelist was quite a child, removed to
a larger house at Griff.

As was perhaps not unnatural, " George Eliot "
drew much of her early inspiration and local colour
from the immediate neighbourhood in which she was
born, and in " Mr. Gilfil's Love Story," which she
commenced to write on Christmas Day 1856, Astley
Church appears under the disguise of " Knebley
Church " ; whilst Sir Robert Newdigate, who collected
so many Art treasures for his beautiful home of Arbury,
figures in the same story under the name of " Sir
Christopher Cheverel."

188

CHAPTER X

THE STORY AND ROMANCE OF SOME SOUTH WARWICK-
SHIRE MANOR-HOUSES

SOME twelve miles to the south-east of Stratford lies
Compton Wynyates, one of the most interesting and
picturesque manor-houses in Warwickshire, reached by
a road scarcely more than a by-way from Upper Tysoe,
and lying beautifully situated and secluded in a thickly
wooded dell. Scarcely seen until one comes quite close
to it, at first sight it gives merely an impression of a
multitude of gables, turrets, and chimneys, with the
central porch flanked by two picturesque half-timbered
gables partly overgrown by creepers and ivy.

The whole building except the gables is battlemented,
and the ancient chimneys of zigzag and cable pattern
give it an additional and unique picturesqueness. The
old moat which formerly surrounded it has been filled
in, with the exception of a portion to the north, now
enclosing a beautiful flower-garden, which was very
probably in former days covered with buildings.

The name Compton Wynyates is supposed by many
to have been derived from the fact that in ancient times

Warwickshire

a vineyard was situated on the slopes which surround
the house, and the weight of tradition is also in favour
of this derivation. The property has been in the
possession of the Compton family since the reign of
King John, and although records are lacking to support
the view, it seems possible that it came into the hands
of the Comptons at the date of the Conquest. But,
although in the reign of Edward III. one John de
Compton was a knight for the shire in Parliament,
the family appear not to have gained any great distinc-
tion until the beginning of the sixteenth century.

At the end of the fifteenth century William Compton
succeeded his father Edmund, but being then only
eleven years of age he became a ward of the Crown,
and was brought up with Henry VIII. His associa-
tion with the latter was destined to bear very material
fruit in the way of advancement in later years, as,
becoming a great favourite with Henry, he eventually
received several important appointments in the State.

Old Fuller, the chronicler, says of Compton, " He
was highly and deservedly a favourite to this King, so
that, in the Court, no laymen, abating onely Charles
Brandon (in whom affection and affinity met), was equall
unto him."

To this William Compton the King granted an
augmentation to his arms from his own Royal ensigns
and devices, and at the beginning of his reign made
him custodian of the castle at Fulbroke, which had
fallen into ruins.

About 1509 Sir William Compton, who had gained

190

Compton Wynyates

great distinction at the Battle of Spurs, and had been
knighted for his gallantry, pulled down the castle, and
with part of the materials — consisting in the main of
some of the stone, the chimneys, and part of the wood-
work— set about building himself a mansion at Compton
Wynyates. Tradition asserts that the chimneys were
carried from the ruined castle, for use in the new
mansion, in panniers on the backs of horses and
donkeys. Thus was built one of the most interesting
and picturesque mansions of Warwickshire, and, indeed,
of any county in England.

The house was erected round a quadrangle 75 feet
square. The four sides of the building, however, were
not designed with exactitude, the north being 140 feet,
the south 146 feet, the east 155 feet, and the west 152
feet in length. Over the arch of the entrance porch are
carved the arms of Henry VIII., supported by a griffin
and a greyhound, above which is a crown with the
inscription, « DOM . REX . HENRICVS . OCTAV."
On the hollow mouldings of the drip-stone are figures
of lizards, other animals, and roses ; whilst on each
side is the Tudor double rose of York and Lancaster
beneath a crown. The left-hand spandril is filled in
with a device of Catherine of Aragon formed by the
Castle of Castile and the pomegranate of Granada : also
a sheaf of arrows, the badge of her mother Isabella. The
right-hand spandril contains the portcullis, which was a
badge of Henry VIII. Anciently there was, of course,
a drawbridge, and inside the archway on either side are
stone benches and doors which led out to the moat

191

Warwickshire

when the drawbridge was raised. The old oak doors
contain a wicket, and still show traces of bombardment
from callivers and matchlocks. But these doors, which
are strongly panelled inside, would appear to have
successfully resisted all the attacks made upon them.

On passing beneath the entrance porch into the
inner court one is at once struck by the beautiful bay-
window on the right-hand side containing eight lights,
with mullions and transoms and carved panels, and
battlements above. Between two windows on the left
of the door is a lion's head carved in stone, which is
worth notice, as there is a tradition that on festive
occasions it ran with wine, which was supplied from
the inside of the house and ran into a basin formerly
fixed below the head. This courtyard is rendered
more picturesque than even it would otherwise be by
the beautiful flowers and creepers, more especially the
fuchsias, which adorn it.

On entering the house one passes the Buttery on
the left, divided from the Hall itself by an oak screen
carved in the linen-fold pattern, and from this a short
passage leads to the kitchens, which still contain the
large recessed fireplaces of Tudor times.

Between the chapel and the Hall is the great
parlour, with its oak panelling and plaster ceiling bear-
ing the arms of Compton and Spencer, built in the
reign of Elizabeth by William Compton, first Earl of
Northampton.

The great Hall itself extends the full height of the
house, and possesses a fine open -timbered roof, the

192

The Private Chapel

beams of which spring from a richly carved cornice.
The roof was apparently brought from some older
building and reduced in size to fit its present use. It
is probable, too, that it originally extended one bay
farther, which would give it its true proportions.

At one end is a picturesque half-timbered Minstrel
Gallery, with open panel-work, the gallery in the
south-east angle being a modern addition.

There is an interesting survival of the games of our
ancestors in the huge slab of elm, over 23 feet in length
and 30 inches in width, which was made to rest on
tressels, and in all probability was used for playing
" shovel-board," a popular amusement in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.

It was in this Hall that the builder, Sir William
Compton, received Henry VIII., with whom he had
been at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and doubtless
it has been the scene of many almost equally notable
festivities during the centuries which have passed since
its erection. The Chapel, which is on the south side
of the quadrangle, is divided into two portions by an
oak screen with a gate in the centre. Over the screen
are carved panels, and on the left of the gate on the
outer side is one probably representing the scourging
of Christ previous to the Crucifixion ; whilst that on
the left represents a female figure on a pedestal in-
tended apparently for the Virgin Mary, the stag having
reference to the legend of St. Hubert. Within the
screen on the left are representations of the seven
deadly sins, each mounted on a horse with a small

'93 25

Warwickshire

demon behind, urging on the rider. At the head of
the procession is a monk, and the figure of the devil
is seen standing ready to receive them. On the right-
hand side there is a carving of figures (probably
Twelfth Night mummers) in State robes, having swords
in their left hands. The centre panels on both sides
of the screen are blank. The general impression is
that these carvings, which are certainly of greater age
than the house, were brought from Fulbroke Castle,
built by John, Duke of Bedford, in the reign of Henry
V., the custody of which was given to Sir William
Compton by Henry VIII.

The great window on the south-western side of the
chapel contains five lights, with cinquefoil heads
divided by a transom, and with the spandrils and sill
carved. In it was formerly some beautiful painted
glass representing the Passion, in which also were de-
picted the figures of the builder of the house and his
wife and three children, and the family arms. The
glass was removed to Balliol College, Oxford, during
the period of the Civil War. It is difficult to exactly
locate the former position of the high altar in reference
to the great window, it being possible, as was sometimes
the case, that the celebrant took up his position behind
it, and thus faced north-east, having his back, of course,
towards the window itself.

Amongst the other more notable portions of this
fine manor-house, which in its entirety contains eighty
rooms with seventeen separate flights of stairs and 275
windows, which in the days of the window tax were

194

Chippendale's Carving

reduced to the number of thirty, is the private dining-
room built in the reign of Elizabeth by William
Compton, first Earl of Northampton, ornamented with
the arms of Compton and Spencer. The carving of
the chimneypiece moulding of hard fir-wood is supposed
to be the work of Thomas Chippendale, the well-known
wood-carver of George II. 's time.

The Music- or Smoking-room is probably a com-
paratively modern addition to the house, about the
year 1738 ; here too the chimney moulding appears
to be the work of Chippendale.

On the second floor, approached by the great stair-
case, which although occupying its original position is
a modern reproduction dating only from 1867, King
Charles' room is reached, situated on the north side
overlooking the moat. In this room Charles is said
to have slept when a guest here. The moat and the
upper part of the house could in those days be reached
by a spiral staircase just outside the room.

The Drawing-room on the south side of the house
is a beautiful room, oak panelled, and with a handsome
plaster ceiling placed there in the time of Elizabeth
and recently carefully restored. The carving and
panelling over the mantelpiece were brought from
Canonbury House, which was the manor-house of
Islington, purchased by Sir John Spencer, the father
of the first Earl, in 1570. The chapel drawing-room,
in which are oak carvings and a moulded ceiling, has
on the south side hinged panels, and a door which
leads into the upper portion of the chapel, and

195

Warwickshire

through which people in the room could hear the
service.

Next to this room is the bed-chamber occupied by
Henry VIII. when visiting the house, and containing
a window in which is some old painted glass. In one
of the lights is a Tudor rose intact, and in others there
are portions of the arms of Catherine of Aragon. The
ceiling, which is interesting and curious, was probably
made in the reign of Charles I., and contains the arms
of the various royal guests who had honoured the
house with their presence, including Henry VIII.,
Queen Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I.

The Council Chamber in the great tower is reached
by a circular staircase, and is notable for its beautiful
split oak panelling, exhibiting the grain of the wood in
a manner impossible where sawn timber is used. In a
small chamber adjoining is a well-hole, probably once
forming the entrance to a secret passage communicating
with a trap-door in the north wing.

There were in ancient times a large number of
secret hiding-places at Compton Wynyates. Next but
one to the room of Henry VIII. is a chamber from
which there was communication with a secret hiding-
place of quite considerable dimensions, reached from it
by a stairway of eleven steps only 19 inches wide. In
this stairway is an "observation hole," some 10 inches
high and about i\ inches wide, formerly concealed by
the panelling, by means of which the approach of the
enemy or of a search party could be watched by the
fugitive in hiding. The secret chamber is about seven

196

Secret Chamber Tragedy

feet square, and has two windows and a small fireplace.
One of the distinguishing features of the house is the
number of its windows and chimneys ; a circumstance
that made it extremely difficult for searchers to locate
any secret hiding-place, even though furnished with
both. Few manor-houses have, or at least had, more
numerous places of concealment great and small than
Compton Wynyates. In the south-western turret is
another hiding-place, stated to have been discovered
by Lady Frances Compton about 1770, whilst she was
playing there as a child. The story goes that she fell
against the plaster-work which concealed the door, and
the hollow sound emitted caused investigation to be
made. Upon opening the chamber it was found (so
tradition states) to contain the skeletons of a woman
(a nurse ?) and two children, concealed, it is supposed,
at some period of trouble and forgotten.

The famous priests' room or chapel in the roof is
reached from the Council Chamber by three newel
staircases, and it is even possible there was a fourth in
ancient times. This room was undoubtedly used as
a chapel, as there were many Popish recusants dwelling
in the immediate neighbourhood ; a safer and less
unostentatious place of worship was scarcely possible.
On an elm shelf below the south-west window are,
rudely carved, five consecration crosses, showing that it
had been used for the purpose of an altar, and was
consecrated according to the rites of the Romish
Church. The slab of wood is unique, in that it forms
the only known instance of a wooden altar in England.

197

Warwickshire

The part played by the Northampton family in the
Civil War was such as to attract the attention of the
Parliamentary forces to even so secluded a spot as
Compton Wynyates, and on Thursday, June 6, a detach-
ment of Parliamentarians under Major Bridges appeared
before the house and besieged it for three days, when
it surrendered. The Parliamentarians are reported by
Dugdale to have killed many of the deer in the park,
and also to have wantonly defaced the ornaments in
the Church.

James, the third Earl of Northampton, was ultimately
permitted to resume possession of the house and estates
on payment of a heavy fine to the Parliamentary party.

Since that time the peace of the fine old grey pile
has been undisturbed, and the ninth earl, who was
created a marquis in 1812, repaired the house, which
had fallen somewhat into decay.

Whether one regards Compton Wynyates from the
point of view of an ancient building of romantic and
architectural interest, or as a mansion set amid scenery
of singular beauty, the place deserves to rank very
high indeed among the old houses around which has in
past days been woven so much of the glory and romance
of England.

But to the interest of the house must be added
the charm of the most beautiful and picturesque
gardens, maintained all the year round with a care and
lavishness which make them some of the most lovely in
the country.

Some four miles to the south-west of Wormleighton,

198

Burton Dassett

picturesquely situated amidst a group of the Burton
Hills, is the tiny village of Burton Dassett, once said to
have been a market-town, and then known as Chipping
Dassett. It was, however, almost entirely destroyed
in the reign of Henry VII. by Sir Edward Belknap ;
who, then lord of the manor, destroyed the village for
the purpose of making enclosures of the lands. He
was never punished for this ruthless act, because of the
public services he had rendered the King, and at the
close of the fifteenth century was granted immunity by
his Sovereign from being punished for or questioned
concerning his deeds. The village nowadays consists
of but two or three farm-houses.

It possesses, however, a fine and very interesting
Church of All Saints, and a romantic interest in its
ancient beacon, which stands upon the extreme north-
western point of the Burton Hills, near the well-known
windmill.

The Beacon, which is a stone fourteenth and fifteenth
century building, some sixteen feet in height and sixty-
two feet in circumference, with walls of extreme thick-
ness, has a conical roof, and projecting from the top
are twenty-five corbels, which apparently supported a
gallery in former times reached by a wooden ladder or
outside stairs. There are two windows, one looking
out westward to the Malvern Hills, and another in
a north-easterly direction towards Rugby and High
Cross. From the summit of this stunted tower there
is on a clear day a wonderful prospect to the south-
east, only bounded by Irvinghoe, forty miles distant,

199

Warwickshire

where there was another beacon ; whilst to the north-
east, twenty miles distant, was Bickenhill Beacon, and
to the north north-east High Cross in Leicestershire,
and the south south-east Nettlebed in Oxfordshire,
twenty-five miles off, with all of which places there was
in former days signalling communication by means of a
fire lighted in a large cresset, some three feet in diameter
and some eighteen inches deep, which was placed upon
a pole and fixed to the roof.

Very prettily situated below the Beacon, on the
southern spur of the hill, is the church, which in its
size and beauty speaks eloquently of the town which
once supplied it with worshippers, but is now almost
untraceable. The building consists of a chancel,
transepts, nave, aisles, and north porch, and at the west
end an embattled tower. The architectural features of
the exterior, which at once attract attention, are the
fine Early English five-light window in the north
transept, with its plate tracery.

The north porch is Decorative in design, and is
ornamented with ball flower moulding ; the doorway,
however, is Norman, as is also that on the south side
of the church. It seems more than possible, indeed,
that these doorways are survivals of the ancient Norman
Church, which the present building superseded. The
tower dates from the early part of the fourteenth
century, and has exceedingly massive walls. The
interior of the church, when viewed from the tower
entrance, is unusually impressive and striking.

The interior presents a number of most interesting

200

Warwickshire

features, for in it is to be found work of the twelfth,
thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth cen-
turies. The unusually fine chancel arch is Transitional ;
the chancel itself is probably early fourteenth-century
work.

Some eight miles south-west of Compton Wynyates,
retired from the Oxford Road, stands the interesting,
picturesque, and considerable manor-house of Little
Wolford. With its ancient courtyard, shaded by yews
and gay in summer with hollyhocks and other old-time
flowers, it is still a fine specimen of a half-timbered
stone mansion of the early part of the sixteenth century.
Formerly belonging to the Ingraham family, the place
has fallen into decay, and from its old estate as a con-
siderable and picturesque mansion.

The Hall, which possesses an open timbered roof,
has a good Tudor fireplace, and on the walls are hung
old portraits of former owners, and relics in the shape
of saddlery and arms, said to have been used during
the Civil War. At the back of the house is a chamber
with a large oven, in which, tradition asserts, rightly
or wrongly, Charles II. hid when a fugitive after
Worcester fight.

201 26

CHAPTER XI

SHAKESPEARE'S LIFE AND SHAKESPEARE'S TOWN

THE history of Stratford-on-Avon, which takes its
name from the Saxon stroete or street, in allusion to
the highway on the great north road leading from
London to Birmingham and Holyhead, and the ford^
from the passage of the Avon, which in ancient times
ran parallel with the bridge of fourteen arches erected
by Sir Hugh Clopton at his own expense in the reign
of Henry VII.

The existence of the town can be traced to a date
some three centuries prior to the Norman Conquest,
but historical details of its early days are scant, although
there was in the seventh century a Saxon monastery
possessed by j^Ethelard, one of the subordinate kings of
the Wiccians. This foundation was, however, in all
probability, dissolved a couple of centuries later.
Although doubtless the Celtic invader, the proud
legions of Rome, and the Saxon settlers who succeeded
the latter, all visited Stratford, which from time im-
memorial must have been a "sweet and pleasant
place of good pasturage and watering," there exist

202

Stratford-on-Avon

no records of those long-past days, when the great
Forest of Arden covered with an almost impenetrable
boscage the whole country which lay between the Avon
to the south and Watling Street to the north, to whose
depths and fastnesses the original inhabitants retreated
in front of the invaders who, afflicting Britain, found
their all-conquering way at times even into the heart
of England itself.

In the immediate neighbourhood of Stratford are
many survivals of Celtic origin in the nomenclature,
and there are some authorities who seek to trace some
measure of Shakespeare's poetic genius to a remote and
long-forgotten Celtic ancestry.

Anciently the town stood almost on the edge of
the Wooland or Woodland district, in contradistinc-
tion to the Feldon, which was less thickly afforested.
At even so late a period as the times of the poet
Camden speaks of the greater part of the district as
thickly wooded, although possessing tracts of pasture
and land given over to corn. Probably the immediate
neighbourhood very closely resembled the more thickly-
wooded portions of the New Forest of the present day.

The first record of the existence of a place of any
importance is the entry in the Domesday Book where,
in 1085, is given a valuation of the manor ; that
then appears to have consisted of barely 2000 acres,
which land was in the occupation of men who were to
all intents and purposes villeins. The lord of the
manor, at the time of the Survey, was the Bishop of
Worcester, to whose see the town belonged, King

203

Warwickshire

Ethelred of Mercia having given the monastery in 691
to Egwin, the third bishop of the diocese. This
monastery is generally supposed to have been founded
by the river side on that exquisite site now occupied
by Holy Trinity Church.

Unhappily the history of this monastic foundation,
which one may well believe would have been of
supreme interest, is almost untraceable. But that it
was not an altogether tranquil one may be inferred from
the records which state that strife between the succeed-
ing Bishops of Worcester and the Kings of Mercia for
its possession and that of the town was not infrequent.
Both the town and the monastery undoubtedly in those
early times were interdependent, and the first houses,
of which there were apparently about two score at the
time of the Conquest, were probably near the site of the
monastery and river, and were in the neighbourhood
of the thoroughfare now known as the Old Town.
The manorial mill, at which the inhabitants ground
their corn, was situated below the ford, and for this
privilege they paid the usual fee taken by the lord of
the manor for such convenience. In those early days
of Stratford's existence, before grave and scandalous
monastic abuses ate into the heart of the system of
religious foundations, the countryfolk looked to their
ecclesiastical neighbours for active assistance in their
labours and lives. This was undoubtedly the case
with the old-time inhabitants of Stratford. Soon the
town not only grew within its own borders, but spread
its influence into the surrounding district, where

204

Market

clearings were made in the forest, or spaces already
open were put under cultivation and homesteads
began to spring up.

The first event of any historical importance in con-
nection with " the town of Stratford by Avon," and one
destined to have a great effect upon its ultimate growth
and importance, was the granting by Richard I., in the
year 1 197, of the right to hold a market each Thursday.
This privilege was obtained for the inhabitants by the
then Bishop of Worcester, who charged the townsfolk
the sum of sixteen shillings per annum for it. This
market was held on the site of the present Rother
Market, and to it the drovers brought their cattle
weekly from the pastures round about or from the
cleared spaces of the Forest of Arden near by. The
word itself serves to preserve a memorial of the
nature of the institution, " Rother " being Anglo-
Saxon for horned cattle.

The market, however, appears to have declined in
importance towards the middle of the thirteenth century,
but was reinstituted or recovered its lost popularity in
the early years of the fourteenth. In addition to the
market, which, as we have already pointed out, must
have been largely devoted to cattle, five annual
fairs were held, which were doubtless a great
attraction to the townsfolk and to dwellers in the
immediate neighbourhood. Four of these were, we
find, largely patronised by drovers, and a great trade
was done at them in cattle. The reason for this
circumstance is not far to seek when one takes into

205

Warwickshire

consideration the fact that in the immediate vicinity
of Stratford there were considerable extents of rich
pasture land which, from time immemorial, had been
used for herds and flocks. The market frequented
by dealers in other goods and by the wandering pedlars
of the Middle Ages lay around the High Cross, at
the northern end of the High Street, in the space which
in those days lay between Rother Market and the
ancient timber bridge across the Avon.

To these fairs doubtless came the inhabitants from
far and near ; from the scattered homesteads amid the
forest glades of Arden, and from the manor-houses
which began in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
to spring up upon the lands granted by successive kings
to their vassals for services rendered or for political
reasons. Ultimately there came to Stratford fairs
merchants of East Anglia and enterprising traders
from so far afield as London. Pedlars there had always
been from quite early times.

From the fourteenth century onwards the town appears
to have had no lack of sons interested in her welfare,
and amongst the earliest benefactors were two brothers
named Robert and John de Stratford, and a nephew.
The two brothers were destined to become distinguished
ornaments of the Church, the second named being in
turn Archdeacon of Lincoln in 1319, Bishop of Win-
chester in 1323, and Archbishop of Canterbury in
1333. Robert being vicar of his native town, then in
1335 Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and two
years later he was consecrated Bishop of Chichester.

206

Robert and John de Stratford

Ralph de Stratford, the nephew, being raised to the see
of London in 1339.

In a measure these two brothers, who were not
alone Churchmen but also statesmen, holding in turn the
Chancellorship of England, John occupying that high
office four times, may be said to have inherited the
spirit of benefaction for which they were to be remem-
bered by their native town. Some time during the
reign of the first Edward their father had founded a
chapel for the famous Guild of the Holy Cross, which
in all likelihood was built upon the same site as that
occupied by the Guild Chapel now surviving at the
corner of Church Street and Chapel Lane. To this
chapel Robert de Stratford was appointed the first
Master in 1269, on the sanction of Godfrey Giffard,
Bishop of Worcester. During the next year the
Bishop fostered the newly-founded religious community
(which was not, however, ecclesiastical) by granting a
forty-days' indulgence to all those who had presented
gifts to the Guild. The Register, which exists at the
present day, and contains entries from the middle of
the fourteenth century, shows that the Guild must
have been wealthy, as it possessed property in almost
every street of the town.

To his brother Robert belongs the credit of local im-
provement of the town. In his time the streets were
little more than rough tracks or paths connecting the
different quarters where the inhabitants had erected
dwellings along the roads which led to Henley-in-Arden
and Alcester. " The ways," we read, " were of such

207

Warwickshire

unevenness that all who traversed them in rainy days
came to their end muddied, and many a cart stuck fast
even within the town." Robert de Stratford decided
to amend this state of affairs, and to enable him to pave
them he, in 1332, obtained leave to tax the produce
brought into the town for sale by the farmers and
others of the immediate neighbourhood. Thereby he
not only conferred a great benefit upon his fellow-
townsmen, but also upon those who came to Stratford
for business.

The history of the town subsequent to this date
until the reign of Edward VI. is very obscure. Indeed,
although it is more than probable that it saw some-
thing of the Wars of the Roses, and in a measure
played its part in the history of the county at large, the
records of its progress and the doings of its inhabitants
are scanty indeed. The name of one family, however,
which became indissolubly connected with Stratford
towards the close of the fifteenth century, calls for at
least a passing mention. In 1483 Sir Hugh Clopton,
of the manor of Clopton, which lies about a mile to the
north of Stratford, came to the town and built himself
a fine house (as houses were so considered in those
days) on the site now occupied by New Place. It was
he that, seeing the old bridge of wood which then
spanned the Avon was in a " sorry state," erected the
stone structure which, since the days of Henry VII.
till the present day, has spanned the river with its
fourteen arches, except for a short period from 1645-52,
when there was at most a temporary passage across,

208

Early History

owing to the destruction of the second arch of the
end farthest from the town by the Parliamentarians.
During the reign of the Virgin Queen, Stratford,
which had by then become a country town of some
little importance and size, made some progress.
But in even the spacious days of (Elizabeth there
was still something of mediaeval ways and manners
clinging to the life and habits of towns such as
Stratford. It is difficult for us, who dwell in the
. twentieth century, with its almost fanatical cleanliness
and idolisation of everything which can be described as
progress, to realise the conditions prevailing in places
like Stratford, which was probably not worse governed
or overseen than other towns of similar size. In a
contemporary record one reads with astonishment that a
" muck heap " was permitted in no less than six places,
the removal of which unsavoury deposits was only
suffered twice a year ! The streets were, notwith-
standing the official refuse heap, often almost impassable
for filth, "fine gentlemen and dames passing with
difficulty without the soiling of their garments along
them." Even a vicar of the town was interrogated by
the Council regarding a pig-stye he had erected in the
open street, to the obstruction of the common way !
The Town Council (Stratford had been granted a
Charter of Incorporation in 1553 by Edward VI.) seem
to have attempted some control of the inhabitants, but,
if one may believe the evidence afforded by con-
temporary documents, with but scant and qualified
success. Rushes were still strewn on the clay floors of

209 27

Warwickshire

even the best houses, and, what is of greater importance,
were not removed too frequently. And although a
mandate was issued by the Town Council in the year
before Elizabeth ascended the throne for the inhabitants
in the winter to hang out a lantern before their doors
between the hours of five and eight in the evening,
this order was frequently disregarded. It is from these
fragmentary records that one is able to gain at least an
approximate picture of the ancient town of Stratford in
the period just preceding Shakespeare's birth.

Twice during the reign of Elizabeth was the town
visited by devastating fires, each of which destroyed
some two hundred houses and rendered a large number
of the townsfolk homeless and almost destitute. It
was the fate that very frequently befell ancient towns,
and was repeated again in the year 1614, when upwards
of fifty houses, some of them the handsomest in the
town, were burned to the ground. Stratford is still
rich for a place of its size in architectural survivals of
an age when picturesqueness was so marked a feature
of domestic buildings, but for these devastating con-
flagrations what might it not have been ?

The place has never played any important part in
history, but at the outset of the Civil War it took the
side of the King, and although the Royalist garrison
was in 1 642 driven out of the town by a Parliamentarian
force under Lord Brooke of Warwick, the townsfolk
remained faithful in heart to the cause they had
espoused, and in 1643 Queen Henrietta Maria and
Prince Rupert with a large body of troops were

210

Shakespeare's Ancestors

quartered there. The Queen remained three days, and
stayed at New Place, where she was entertained by
Mrs. Hall, Shakespeare's daughter.

So far as history making goes, Stratford's part may
be said to have ceased when the Civil War no longer
caused it to be the venue of the contending parties.
And had it not been for the event which had occurred
on April 23, 1564 (old style), when the Bard of Avon
entered the world in the Henley Street house to which
so many pilgrims flock each year, the claim of the town
to special notice and description would be far less easily
defined.

Obscure as many of the incidents of Shakespeare's
early life unfortunately are, the connection of his family
with Warwickshire and with Stratford are happily
traceable with some considerable degree of certitude.
Richard Shakespeare (the Christian name of whom is
traditional, it must be admitted) is popularly supposed
to have been the owner or tenant of some land and
tenements at Snitterfield, a small village about four
miles north of Stratford, situated on rising ground,
which were granted to him for "his faithful and
approved service to the most prudent prince, King
Henry VII. of famous memory " ; what these services
were does not appear. Of his several children two at
least were sons named John and Henry. The former,
afterwards to be the father of the poet, was born about
the year 1530, and was certainly a resident in Stratford
prior to 1552. About the latter year he was following
the trade of fell -monger (hide seller) and glover,

211

Warwickshire

possibly also combining with these the trade of
butcher, and it is ascertained that he at times also
dealt in corn and timber. All of which trades he
carried on in Henley Street. He appears to have
prospered in his business, for in the month of October
1556 he is recorded as having purchased the copyhold
of a house, garden, and some other property in Green-
hill Street, not far from Henley Street. In the following
year he was married to Mary Arden, the daughter of
one Robert Arden, of Aston Cantlow, a village some
six miles north-west of Stratford, who left her a small
estate called Asbies, as well as reversionary rights in
property at Snitterfield, including the farm which he
had leased to Shakespeare's father. In the same year
John Shakespeare became a member of the Stratford
Corporation.

His house on the northern side of Henley Street
was one of considerable size, and, indeed, in those
days was doubtless esteemed a fine house. As
was not inappropriate for the birthplace of one who
loved and must have often rambled in the Forest of
Arden, it was from thence that came the oak planks
and beams of which the house was built, — timbers
tough and well seasoned, fit to outlast a thousand
years. It was here that to John and Mary Shakespeare
was born a daughter, Joan, in 1558 (who, it is probable,
died some two years later) ; another daughter, Margaret,
in 1562 (who died when about four months old) ; and
then in 1564 a son, William, destined to be the
greatest of English poets and dramatists.

212

Shakespeare

The exact date of his birth is, unfortunately, but
conjectural. It is usually accepted as being April 23.
But, as was the custom with the other children of John
and Mary Shakespeare, only the dates of baptism are
recorded. That in the case of William was April 26,
and the date being old style brings it actually to
May 5 in our present calendar. But there is a well-
authenticated and continuous tradition that St. George's
Day, April 23, was the actual date of the poet's
birth ; and most authorities are agreed that in this case
tradition is probably right. It must be remembered
in this connection that in those days it was the custom
to bring children to baptism as soon as possible after
birth, and two or three days after was a very common
time.

Shakespeare came into the world at a period when
there was a perfect galaxy of prospective literary talent.
Michael Drayton, born the previous year, was still an
infant ; Walter Raleigh, Philip Sidney, and Edmund
Spenser were boys ; and Francis Bacon, destined to
provide so much material for Shakespearian controversy
in later times, was a tiny child.

Indeed, the remembrance of Shakespeare's birth
year was likely to remain in the public mind for some
considerable period, for it was the year of the Great
Frost, when the Thames froze almost solidly from side
to side above London Bridge, and a fair of several
weeks' duration was held upon it. Whilst in Stratford
there was a recurrence of the plague, which is stated
to have carried off at least one in seven of the total

213

Warwickshire

population. Fortunately the house of John Shakespeare
escaped the scourge.

In the following year Shakespeare's father was made
an alderman of the borough, and in 1566 a son,
Gilbert, was born to him. In 1568 the alderman
became high-bailiff of the town ; in the following year
a daughter was born, who (in spite of the ill-fortune
popularly supposed to follow such a thing as giving a
child the name of a previous one who had died) was
named Joan. In 1571 John Shakespeare became
senior alderman of the town, which was the most
exalted civic office the place could bestow, and entitled
its possessor to the title of Magister, both after as
well as during his term of office. It is by this title
that he is at and from this date described in the
Parish Registers. In the same year was born his
daughter Anne, who was baptized on September 28 ;
and two years afterwards a son, baptized Richard,
was born.

In 1575 is recorded the purchase by John Shakespeare
from one Edmund Hall of the house in Henley Street,
now known as the birthplace, for the sum of £40.
From this period the star of Shakespeare's father,
which hitherto, except for quite trivial ups and downs
of fortune, appears to have been so distinctly in the
ascendant, waned. Three years later his embarrassment
was such that he was compelled to mortgage Asbies,
which his wife had brought him, and also to sell his
interest in certain lands at Snitterfield.

He appears also to have ceased attending the meet-

214

John Shakespeare

ings of the Town Council, and even to have had his
taxes remitted. In 1579 his daughter Anne died, and
in the following year his name appears in several lists
of recusants, which circumstance has been held by
some to afford evidence of his having either been a
Romanist or having become one. At this time the
Roman Catholic religion was of course proscribed, and it
has been thought by some that his troubles may possibly
have arisen in part from his apostasy or belonging to
the "old faith." There is, however, no clear evidence
in support of this contention. In 1585 his affairs
seem to have gone from bad to worse, for he was
deprived of his office of alderman for non-attendance,
the record reading " He doth not come to the halles,
nor hath he of long time."

It was a few years later, however, that the crisis in his
affairs seems to have been reached, for during this period
we learn that he could not attend church for fear of" pro-
cesse of debt." In 1597, on account of the success of
his son (as some think), there was a distinct recovery
in the position of the Shakespeares. And during the
year a bill was filed by him in the Court of Chancery
against John Lambert, the son of the man to whom
his estate of Asbies had been mortgaged in 1578, the
object of the action being for its recovery. The
argument of John Shakespeare being that though
money had been tendered for the release of the
property the Lamberts still held it, and refused to
resign possession. About the same time, too, a grant
of arms was made to him by one Dethick, Garter

215

Warwickshire

King-at-Arms. The motto afterwards used by the
poet was " Non sanz droict."

In 1601 Shakespeare's father died, the fact being re-
corded in the burial register at Stratford as follows : —

1 60 1, Sept. 8, Mr. Johanes Shakspeare.

Thus ends the record of a life which saw quite
its fair share of vicissitudes.

Of Shakespeare's early life, unfortunately, compara-
tively little is known. It appears probable, however,
that about the year 1571, when he was seven years old,
he was sent to the Grammar School founded in 1481
by one Thomas Jolyffe. There is no reason for
doubting that he was for some considerable time a
scholar there, and learned the " small Latin and less
Greek " which was assigned to him by Ben Jonson.

It was whilst he was still a schoolboy that Queen
Elizabeth visited the Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth ;
and thither many from the districts round about
flocked to gaze upon her Majesty, and to witness
with open-eyed wonder the magnificent pageants which
were enacted for her amusement. As Stratford is but
thirteen miles distant from Kenilworth by road it
appears more than possible that both Shakespeare and
his father were amongst the spectators. If this were
the case it is probable that the Kenilworth festivities
were the first introduction which the future dramatist
had to the stage, and that the influence of the scenes
he must have witnessed becomes easily traceable in
several of his plays.

216

Shakespeare's Early Life

Every life of Shakespeare, even with the benefit of
the latest discoveries and the most recent and learned
reasoning and deductions, must unhappily be largely
conjectural. Not because it is possible to believe that
it was blank or useless in its earlier days, but because,
alas ! the records are so scanty that the most able and
painstaking research has succeeded in eliciting from
the past but a fragmentary chain of circumstances and
comparatively unimportant facts where one would have
had detailed evidence. Shakespeare's wedding with
Anne Hathaway when he was nineteen and she seven
years his senior, some time in the early part of the
month of December 1582, was followed on May 26
of the succeeding year by the birth of his daughter
Susannah. No evidence exists to settle the question
of either Shakespeare's employment or mode of life
during the early period of his married life, and the
only indisputable fact that has come down to us re-
lating to the next year or two is the record of the birth
of twins, a son Hamnet and a daughter Judith, on
February 2, 1585, who were baptized in Stratford
Church.

It was about this time that Shakespeare went to
London, though probably quite late in the year. The
reason of his removal from his native town is quite
unknown, although some authorities appear to favour
the traditional story that it was in consequence of his
poaching exploits, and the action of Sir Thomas Lucy.
Others think that he was drawn thither by a desire to
better his position, and thus provide for his increasing

217 28

Warwickshire

family. Two years later, in 1587, he was found,
according to Mr. Fleay, a member of the Earl of
Leicester's players either at the time of or shortly after
their visit to Stratford, when they probably gave per-
formances in the Guild Hall. This is, however,
entirely supposition, as there is neither any very definite
tradition nor any recorded fact which proves Shake-
speare to have left Stratford under these circumstances.

For several years after this date there is nothing
to connect the poet with his native town, but in
1596 the Register at Stratford contains an entry
recording the burial of his only son Hamnet, which
took place on August 1 1 . The following year the
poet purchased from William Underhill, gentleman,
"one messuage, two barns, two gardens, and two
orchards, with appurtenances, in Stratford-on-Avon,"
for the sum of j£6o, the house being that erected by
Sir Hugh Clopton in the reign of Henry VII., and
known then as the Great House. Shakespeare re-
named it New Place, and by this name the site (for
the house has disappeared) is known to this day.

From this time onward the poet seems to have
enjoyed very material prosperity, and became at various
times the purchaser of other property in the town
and neighbourhood.

In 1607 his elder daughter Susannah married one of
the leading medical men of the town, Dr. John Hall,
and in the following year a grand-daughter was born to
the poet, named Elizabeth. His younger daughter
Judith married in 1 6 1 6 a vintner of Stratford named

218

The Poet's Birthplace

Thomas Quiney. Of this marriage there were three
children born, two of whom survived to attain man-
hood, but died without issue.

These somewhat bare facts unhappily constitute
almost all that is known of Shakespeare and his family
life. His death occurring on April 23, 1616, after an
illness of some weeks.

Of the latter part of his life his first biographer,
Rowe, writes, it " was spent, as all men of sense may
wish theirs may be, in some retirement, and the con-
versation of his friends. His pleasurable wit and good
nature engaged him in the acquaintance, and entitled
him to the friendship of the gentlemen of the neigh-
bourhood."

But, however meagre may be the details of the
poet's life at Stratford and elsewhere, fortunately for
pilgrims to his native town and admirers of his plays,
there are still surviving the ravages of time and
modern changes, so often destructive of these things,
many buildings and spots directly or indirectly con-
nected with him and incidents in his career.

The birthplace, situated in Henley Street, is of course
the most interesting and important building in the eyes
of Shakespearian " critics " and admirers alike. It is a
half-timbered, two-storied building with dormer win-
dows and a wooden porch, which although largely
restored in 1 8 57-58, may be considered to fairly represent
the house as it stood at the time of the poet's birth,
great care having been taken at the time of restoration
to follow every indication discoverable of its former

219

Warwickshire

state. Both the birthplace and the wool-shop adjoining
were probably erected at the commencement of the
sixteenth century, and at that period the house would
have undoubtedly held rank as one of the better sort,
and as forming a very comfortable residence for a
tradesman in a small provincial town such as Stratford
then was. But in those far-off Elizabethan days the
environment of the house was very different from what
it now is. We have already referred to the state of
Stratford streets when rubbish and household refuse not
only disfigured them, but made passage through them
both difficult and unsavoury, and John Shakespeare
would not seem to have been more particular than his
neighbours, for we find that in April 1552 he was
mulcted in the not then inconsiderable sum of twelve-
pence for cleaning away the rubbish which he had allowed
to accumulate in front of his own door. The roadway
was probably little more than a deeply rutted track,
with a walnut tree, which was standing as late as 1765,
in front of the entrance door, and under the shade of
which doubtless Shakespeare's father, when his business
was done, used to sit and gossip with his neighbours.
Across the road was a pool of water (probably a duck
pond), and at the rear of the house a garden and out-
buildings.

After John Shakespeare's death, the dwelling
probably remained in the occupation of his widow till
her death in 1608, when it came into possession of
Joan Hart, her sister. The poet himself left the house
to her by will, and she lived in it until 1646. Shake-

220

Autographs

speare's daughter Susannah Hall afterwards came into
possession (having previously been the owner of the
wool-shop), and from her it descended to her daughter
Lady Barnard. Ultimately, after various owners and
vicissitudes, the building was converted in 1784 into an
open- fronted butcher's shop, the windows and porch
being removed to allow of a proper display of the
stock in trade. The wool -shop next door had long
previously, in 1603, become an inn, called at first
"The Maidenhead," and afterwards "The Swan and
Maidenhead." Its front was faced with brickwork in
1808, and some forty years later the buildings were
bought for the nation, and ten years afterwards were
restored, as already mentioned.

The street entrance is directly into the chief living
room of the house, which is stone paved, and provided
with an old-fashioned recessed fireplace, as is also the
kitchen. Behind the latter are two small apartments
known as the wash-house and pantry. Beneath the
kitchen is a small cellar reached by a flight of steps,
and probably remaining much in its original state.

The principal room of the upper floor, facing the
street, and reached by an oak staircase of ten steps, is
the birth-room. The walls, ceiling, and windows are
covered by numberless signatures, written and scratched
upon them by " pilgrims " before the custom was
strictly prohibited. Amongst this strange collection of
autographs can still be deciphered many of interest,
including those of Izaak Walton, Thomas Carlyle,
Sir Walter Scott, and other famous people. The

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Warwickshire

bureau in the room was brought from the Old
College, demolished in 1799, and the chairs were
gifts. This by no means imposing chamber not only
witnessed the birth of the poet, but in all likelihood
those of his brothers and sisters, and was the death-
chamber of his father, mother, and sister Susannah,
Mrs. Hart. In a room at the back of this, originally
forming two small bedrooms, is an oil painting pre-
sumed to be that of Shakespeare. It closely resembles
the bust in the church, and was possibly copied from it.
It was given to the house by Mr. W. O. Hunt, and is
supposed to have originally belonged to the Clopton
family, having been found in Edward Clopton's house
on his death. Curiously enough, the face was formerly
disguised with a beard, which a Mr. Collins, a con-
noisseur of some note, discovered was painted over the
original picture. The portrait was, therefore, cleaned
and repaired (the beard being removed in the process),
and was afterwards deposited at the birthplace. The
sign-boards in the room are old ones belonging to the
house.

There is none of the original furniture in the house,
it having long ago been sold, broken up, or otherwise
disposed of. In Shakespeare's day the furniture of a
house of this size and type must have been of a very
simple character. It would have consisted of little
beyond a substantial table, a press, chairs, a cupboard,
and a tall clock, with the usual table utensils in the
living room ; and a four-post wooden bedstead, a chair
or two, and a table or washstand in the bedrooms.

222

Relics in the Museum

The floors were carpetless, though those of the living
room and kitchen might be strewn with rushes.

The Museum occupies the portion of the building
used by John Shakespeare as a store and shop. It
contains a large number of Shakespearian and other
relics, concerning the authenticity of some of which
there must be grave doubt. Amongst the most in-
teresting in the lower part of the Museum is the desk
which Shakespeare is traditionally supposed to have
used when a lad at the Grammar School, from whence
it was removed to the Museum some years back.

In the central case of relics are a ring with his
initials, W.S., entwined on the setting ; and a sword
supposed to have belonged to him. The glass jug
from which David Garrick drank at the Jubilee in
1769, and the inn sign of the Falcon Tavern at Bidford,
are also preserved in this part of the Museum ; with a
considerable number of deeds relating to property
acquired by various members of the Shakespeare family,
or bearing their signatures as witnesses thereto. Of
the books none are of particular note, although amongst
them are several copies of early editions of the poet's
plays.

The garden in the rear of the house is of consider-
able beauty and interest from the fact that it is largely
stocked with specimens of the trees, fruits, and flowers
mentioned by Shakespeare in his various plays. In the
centre now reposes the remains of the ancient Market
Cross of Stratford, dating from the fourteenth century.

In the angle formed by Chapel Street and Chapel
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Warwickshire

Lane, beyond the Town Hall and past the well-known
Shakespeare Hotel, is a group of houses of considerable
interest situated upon the left-hand side of the street.
The first is known as Hathaway' s house, and was the
residence in 1647 of a descendant of the family of
Shakespeare's wife, named Thomas Hathaway. Next
door but one is Nash's house, once the property of
Thomas Nash, who married Elizabeth Hall, the poet's
grand-daughter ; on her death it came again into the
possession of the Nash family, and was one of the
buildings purchased with New Place in 1861. The
front of the house has been several times restored
since Shakespeare's day, and the interior has been
greatly modernised, but a part of the back and
the beams of the chimney are without doubt por-
tions of the original building. The house is now a
Museum, containing several items of distinct interest,
amongst which are some chairs formerly at New Place,
and a fine photographic copy of the proof impression
of the Droeshout portrait of Shakespeare engraved in
1623. The house of Shaw, an intimate friend of the
poet's, and one of the witnesses to his will, is next door
to the Museum, between it and the Hathaways' house.
Only the site, and garden, and a few traces of the
foundations of New Place, Shakespeare's home in his
latter years, remain. Nothing of the mansion
originally erected for Sir Hugh Clopton has been left
standing. The fact that it was probably the most
imposing residence in the town in Shakespeare's time
affords interesting evidence of the prosperity which

224

New Place

undoubtedly came to him from his companies of players
and the performance of his plays. On acquiring the
property of New Place, Shakespeare made considerable
alterations to fit it to his requirements and ideas ; the
house at this time having two gardens attached to it,
one small and one larger. It is probable that the
famous mulberry tree, which was in all likelihood one
of a considerable number distributed through the
Eastern Counties and Midlands by a Frenchman of the
name of Verton or Verdon in 1609, was planted by
the poet in the smaller garden. Of the great garden
Shakespeare made an orchard, and in it there is some
evidence that he passed much of his time. Prior to the
year 1609 the house was occupied by one Thomas
Greene, Town Clerk of Stratford, who claimed cousin-
ship with the poet ; and after the latter's death in 1 6 1 6
the property descended to his married daughter, Mrs.
Hall, and here in 1 643 she entertained Henrietta Maria,
consort of Charles I.

After passing through several hands the house
and property came into the possession in 1753 of the
Rev. Francis Gastrell, Vicar of Frodsham, in Cheshire.
This event afterwards proved to be fraught with
disastrous consequences, for the Vicar, cursed with a
violent and selfish disposition, soon began a work of
destruction upon the Shakespearian relics, which
unhappily for posterity he had acquired. Angered
by the frequency with which travellers, admirers of
the poet, and antiquarian students applied to him for
permission to view the celebrated mulberry tree, in the

225 29

Warwickshire

shade of which Sir Hugh Clopton in 1742 is by tradi-
tion stated to have entertained David Garrick, Dr.
Delany, and Macklin, he proceeded to cut it down.
This was in itself an act of vandalism which would
have earned for him an unenviable notoriety for all
time ; but far worse was to follow. It appears that
during a portion of each year Gastrell was obliged to
be absent, ministering to his flock at Frodsham. The
Stratford local authorities were (from his point of view)
unreasonable enough to expect him to pay his rates all
the same. Resenting their action and to show his
anger he promptly had New Place demolished, and
the materials of which it was constructed sold ! Thus
vanished for ever, in the act of a maniacal priest,
a building only second in interest and archaeological
value to the birthplace itself, leaving but the site and
a few traces of the foundations remaining.

In addition to the Shakespearian dwellings we have
described, there are a considerable number of domestic
buildings and fragments in Stratford of interest as
architectural survivals, but with which there is no
space to deal here. The curious and the serious
student of Shakespeare's town will have little difficulty
and much pleasure in discovering them.

Exactly opposite New Place, on the other side of
Chapel Lane, are the old Guild Hall and Guild Chapel.
The latter anciently the Chapel of the Guild of the
Holy Cross. This organisation, like some of those of
Coventry and other places, was partly religious and
partly secular in character. Although it was certainly

226

Guild of the Holy Cross

in existence in the reign of Edward I. the actual date
of its foundation is unknown. The ancient governing
body of the Guild consisted of two aldermen and six
Councillors, who were fined fourpence if they failed to
attend its meetings. The annual subscription in 1389
was sixpence, and admission to the Guild was made
upon payment of an entrance fee, which varied in
amount according to whether the applicant was married
or single. There were social feasts at various times
during the year, more especially at Easter-tide, and the
existing records of these form a valuable contribution
to our knowledge of the habits and manners of those
far distant times.

That Stratford could not in those early days have
been a place of great resource or importance is made
clear by the fact that it was necessary to obtain supplies
for these Guild festivities from outside, and keep the
live stock, pigs, fowls, sheep, goats, etc. alive in charge
of the Guild until required.

By the middle of the thirteenth century the Guild
had prospered to such a degree that in 1269 it obtained
a license from the then Bishop of Worcester to build
a chapel and hospital. The present Guild Chapel is
the one erected during the earlier part of the fifteenth
century, on the site of the original building. The
nave was rebuilt in 1292, in Henry VII. 's reign, by
Sir Hugh Clopton. On the exterior of the porch are
four shields bearing the arms of Sir Hugh Clopton,
those of the city of London (of which he was Lord
Mayor), those of the merchants of the Woolstaple, and

227

Warwickshire

the remaining shield bearing what are thought to be
the original arms of Stratford. Early in the nine-
teenth century a series of frescoes were discovered in
the chapel, which were promptly whitewashed over or
otherwise destroyed ; fortunately, however, not before
one Thomas Fisher had made a series of drawings,
which in some measure permits us to realise the
character of the pictures ; the subjects were " The
Doom," "The History of the Holy Cross," "The
Combat between St. George and the Dragon," and
" The Martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury." A
fragment of a fresco (a figure with mutilated legs
bearing a shield) is discernible on the west of the arch
of the inner door.

With this building Shakespeare must have been
well acquainted when a boy, and also as a man. Whilst
resident at New Place he, in all probability, attended it,
as there was a pew attached to the property. Not only
is this small building interesting as a survival of a by-
gone age, but as intimately connected with at least two
portions of Shakespeare's life — boyhood, and his later
years of residence in the town of his birth.

Another building of great and enduring interest is
the Guild Hall, an ancient, half-timbered structure
standing on the south side of the chapel, and built in
1296 by Robert de Stratford, but greatly altered during
the fifteenth century. It was erected for the use of
the members of the Guild, and after the dissolution
of that body it was granted by Edward VI. in 1553
to the principal inhabitants, and was later on used

228

The Guild Hall

for the purposes of a Town Hall, until the present one
was erected in 1768 on the site of a previous building.
In 1890, at the south end, underneath the wainscot,
some traces of frescoes were discovered in the plaster
panels. The centre one contains a representation of
the Crucifixion, with the Virgin on one side and a
figure (probably St. John) on the other. In the other
panels are coats of arms. It was in this hall that
Shakespeare most probably first became acquainted
with " stage plays " and players, and not, as some
suppose, at Kenilworth, for it was here that travelling
companies, invited by the bailiff and aldermen of the
town, used to give performances. The first of these
of which a record exists visited the town in 1569 ;
subsequently the companies of the Earls of Leicester,
Worcester, and Warwick all gave performances at
Stratford; that of the first named in 1587, the year
in which Shakespeare is supposed to have gone to
London in their company.

The windows looking out into the street are com-
paratively modern, those originally lighting the room
being on the opposite side, and at the south end, which
latter window is now blocked up. In the lower part of
the wall are holes, in which the beams supporting the
dais or stage on which the plays were performed were
placed. The Armoury, or " greeing-room," which is
reached from the hall, has good panelling of the
Jacobean period, and the Royal arms over the fireplace
were set up in 1660 as a memento of the public
rejoicing which followed the Restoration. The Muni-

229

Warwickshire

ment Room, reached by a winding staircase, is a small
chamber, in which a large number of interesting
documents of the sixteenth century were discovered
some years ago. Above the armoury is the Council
Chamber, an interesting room now used as the school
library. In it is a massive oak table dating from
Jacobean times.

The famous Grammar School, founded in Henry
VI.'s reign by Thomas Jolyffe, a priest who was a native
of Stratford, is above the Guild Hall. As was the case
with so many other institutions of a like character, the
dissolution of the Monasteries and Foundations saw its
funds " appropriated " by the Crown, and this remained
the case until the accession of Edward VI., who in
1553 granted a Charter of Incorporation to the
principal inhabitants, and with it restored the property
formerly belonging to the Guild. The mathematical
room and the Latin room are both immediately above
the Guild Hall, and in both there are high open-
timbered roofs, with remarkably stout tie-beams. It
was at the lower end of the Latin room that Shake-
speare's traditional desk used to stand, which was
formerly the second master's desk. Aubrey states that
the poet was for a short period a schoolmaster in the
country, and, if this is correct, it is, of course, quite
possible that he filled the office of junior master at the
Grammar School, and used the desk associated by
tradition with him.

The almshouses, which were formerly for twenty-four
poor members of the Guild, and nowadays have twelve

230

Church of the Holy Trinity

male and twelve female inmates, adjoin the school —
a row of picturesque half-timbered houses.

Close to the river and not far from the Memorial
Theatre stands Stratford Church of the Holy Trinity,
ideally situated, almost embosomed in trees, and ap-
proached on the north side by a beautiful avenue of
limes. The building, which was a Collegiate Church
from the reign of Edward III. to the Dissolution, is
a cruciform edifice consisting of a nave with aisles,
a chancel, transepts, and a central tower with an
elegant octagonal spire, which seems to dominate the
whole town when viewed from a little distance. The
building is of mixed styles of architecture, the oldest
portions of which are the Early English tower (the
present spire was erected in 1764, replacing the ancient
wooden one) ; nave of the same period, though possess-
ing a Decorated clerestory ; and the north aisle, built
about the beginning of the thirteenth century. The
transepts, which were very considerably restored in the
reign of Henry VII. by the executors of Sir Hugh
Clopton, probably date from the beginning of the
thirteenth century.

The Decorated south aisle was erected in 1332 by
John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury, and he
it was who founded at its east end a chapel dedicated
to Sir Thomas of Canterbury.

The chancel is Perpendicular, and was built by Dr.
Thomas Balshall at the end of the fifteenth century.
The north porch is Perpendicular, and the clerestory
of the nave was erected late in the fifteenth century,

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Warwickshire

replacing an earlier one of about the same period as the
arcade.

The north aisle had a chapel at its eastern end, called
formerly the Chapel of Our Lady the Virgin, but now
commonly known as the Clopton Chapel, on account of
the number of tombs belonging to that family which it
contains.

The great point of interest, of course, is the
monument of Shakespeare, which is on the north wall
of the chancel, and consists of a bust of the poet under
an arch, on either side of which are two Corinthian
columns of black marble supporting an entablature
bearing his arms, with a seated cherub on either side,
and a skull crowning the top. On a panel beneath the
bust, which was made by Gerard Johnson, a tomb-
maker, who lived near the church now known as St.
Saviour's, Southwark, and was erected prior to 1623,
are the following inscriptions : —

Judicio Pylium, Genio Socratem, Arte Maronem,
Terra Tegit, Populus Moeret, Olympus Habet.

Stay, passenger, why goest thou so fast ?
Read, if thou canst, whom envious Death hath plast
Within this monument ; Shakespeare, with whome
Quicke Natur dide ; whose name doth deck ys tombe,
Far more than cost ; sith all yt he hath writt,
Leaves living art, but page to serve his witt.

Obit Ano Doi 1616.
Aetatis 53 Die 23 A.P.

Originally the bust was coloured, but at the end of
the eighteenth century it was given a coat of white

232

paint, which remained on for nearly seventy years, when
on its removal in 1861 sufficient traces of the original
colouring were discovered to permit of restoration.

It is generally assumed that the face of this bust was
modelled from a death mask, possibly even from the
cast which is now at Darmstadt ; and although either
the execution was originally poor or the likeness has
been spoiled by restoration, the monument is, of
course, of the greatest interest to all admirers of the
poet, and to those who are students of his life and
works. It is believed that the memorial was provided
by Dr. Hall and his wife, and at all events there seems
little doubt that they superintended its erection.

Close beneath the monument and within the altar
rails is the poet's grave, with the well-known lines : —

GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE

TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE j

e t

BLESTE BE Y MAN Y SPARES THES STONES;

e •

AND CVRST BE HE Y MOVES MY BONES.

It is supposed that these lines were written by Shake-
speare himself, fearful lest his remains might be dis-
turbed ; for anciently, on the north side of the chancel,
was a charnel-house in which were a large collection of
human bones. This was done away with in 1800.

Next to the north wall, on the left of the poet's
grave, is that of his wife, who died on August 6, 1623 ;
a Latin inscription on a small brass plate marking the
spot. Close by are also buried Thomas Nash, the
first husband of Elizabeth Hall, Shakespeare's grand-

233 3°

Warwickshire

daughter, who died in 1647 ; Dr. John Hall, who died
in 1635 ; and Susannah Hall, Shakespeare's daughter,
who died in 1649. The original lines on the grave of
the latter were obliterated some time at the beginning
of the eighteenth century, and an inscription to some
one else put in their place. The lines were, however,
restored in 1836.

Witty above her sexe, but that's not all,
Wise to salvation was good Mistris Hall.
Something of Shakespeare was not that but this
Wholy of him with whom she's now in blisse.
Then, passenger, ha'st ne're a teare
To wccpe with her that wept with all ?
That wept, yet set her selfe to chere
Them up with comforts cordiall.
Her love shall live, her mercy spread,
When thou ha'st ne're a teare to shed.

The stained glass in the east window dates from
1895. The " American " window, presented in 1885,
is situated on the north side of the chancel, the subject
of which is " The Seven Ages of Man." The choir
stalls are very handsomely carved, and contain grotesques
on their misereres. The fine stained -glass window
unveiled in 1896 by Mr. Bayard, the then American
ambassador to this country, is another gift of admirers
of the poet in the United States. The chancel screen,
which now occupies a position across the chancel arch-
way, was originally in the nave, and the former screen
is placed in the north transept and forms the vestry.

In the Clopton Chapel are to be found a number of
excellent memorials of the family, one of the finest being

234

The Clopton Family

one against the wall of George Carew, Earl of Totnes, and
Baron Clopton and Joyce his wife. The effigies of the
Earl and Countess, which are of coloured alabaster, lie
under an arch supported by Corinthian columns. The
Earl is in armour, and the weapons and other warlike
objects represented on the tomb commemorate the fact
that he was the Master of Ordnance of James I. The
High Tomb, which is without effigy or inscription, has
numerous panels formerly adorned with "latten" shields.
It was thought that this tomb was intended for Sir
Hugh Clopton, Lord Mayor of London in 1492, from
the fact that he left directions that if he died at Stratford
he was to be buried there. He was, however, buried in
St. Margaret's, Lothbury.

Another interesting memorial placed against the
north wall is that of William Clopton and his wife
Ann. The recumbent effigies are respectively in
armour and in a low-bodiced robe. William Clopton
has his head resting upon his helmet, whilst on the head
of his wife is a close-fitting hood with a peaked front.
The tomb also has upon it effigies of their children,
some of whom are depicted as in swaddling bands,
indicating that they must have died in infancy.

Amongst the other objects of universal interest in
this fine church are the old font, in which Shakespeare
is supposed to have been baptized ; and the ancient
register of the church, wisely protected by a glass case
placed at the western end of the north aisle, containing
the entries of Shakespeare's baptism and burial, and
many other records of interest.

235

Warwickshire

The Shakespeare Memorial buildings, which stand
adjoining the Bancroft Gardens at the foot of Chapel
Lane by the river, form an imposing and fairly pictur-
esque pile in the Elizabethan style of architecture ;
but which, frankly, to most people must in its newness
appear somewhat out of character with the general
atmosphere of the old town. The buildings contain
a Library ; Theatre, capable of seating nearly 900
persons ; a Picture Gallery ; and Central Tower. The
idea of a national memorial to the nation's poet had
been several times brought forward prior to the autumn
of 1874, when Mr. Charles E. Flower presented the
fine site on which the Memorial stands, and the sum of
£1000, coupled with the suggestion that the Memorial
should take the form of a Theatre. A committee was
formed, and the first stone was laid on Shakespeare's
Day, April 23, 1877. The Theatre portion was opened
on the same day two years later, and the whole building
was completed in 1883. Many years before, David
Garrick had made the suggestion that a " school for
actors " should be founded at Stratford, but this idea —
with several others mooted at various times — was never
proceeded with.

In the Library, which is on the ground floor, are
more than 10,000 volumes relating to Shakespeare, his
works and times ; a collection alike valuable to the
student of the poet and to those who would seek to
know what were the modes of life and manners of the
Elizabethan age. The Picture Gallery contains some
interesting portraits of famous actors and actresses, a

236

Shakespeare's Portrait

copy of the Davenant bust of the poet, and a portrait
of Shakespeare, from which some authorities claim that
the Droeshout engraving was made. Whether this
latter supposition is correct or not is still in dispute ;
and, indeed, around the whole question of its authen-
ticity has raged a fierce battle, in which many artists
and antiquarians of note have at various times taken
part. The portrait is on an elm panel, and bears date
1609. The most interesting point is what became of
the portrait from which Droeshout engraved his? For
many years it had been untraceable, but some few years
ago the picture in question was presented to the Memorial
by Mrs. Flower. Such well-known authorities as Mr.
Sidney Lee and Mr. Salt Brassington are inclined, for
reasons into which it is impossible to enter here, to
accept the portrait as that from which Droeshout
engraved his, with which Shakespeare's friend Ben
Jonson would appear to have been satisfied as being a
good representation of his dead friend. If authentic,
it is unnecessary to add that it forms the most important
relic of Shakespeare we have.

Of the many other pictures in the Gallery, the several
portraits of Garrick by Reynolds, Pine, and others ; the
one of John Kemble by Sir Thomas Lawrence ; Bell's
fine picture of Miss Ada Rehan as Katharina in
" The Taming of the Shrew," and subject pictures by
Reynolds, Nomney, Opie, Smirke, and others claim
especial notice.

In the Theatre, the drop curtain of which — an
interesting one by Beverley — illustrates Queen Elizabeth

237

Warwickshire

going in state to the opening of the Globe Theatre, are
given annually during the week in which Shakespeare's
birthday comes representations of various of his plays
The building is also occasionally used by travelling
dramatic companies.

In the Bancroft Gardens stands the statue and
monument sculptured by Lord Ronald Gower, and
presented by him, around the base of which are
excellent figures of Prince Henry, Hamlet, Falstaff,
and Lady Macbeth.

Linking the past with the present age of letters is
the fact that in the fine old house in Church Street,
called Mason's Croft, resides Miss Marie Corelli, the
writer and novelist, whose interest in the preservation
of old buildings in Stratford and Shakespearian survivals
is well known.

After the birthplace and perhaps Holy Trinity
Church, there is no spot connected with Shakespeare
so visited as Anne Hathaway's traditional home at
Shottery, distant about a mile from Stratford, just off
the Alcester Road. Unhappily there is no satisfactory
proof that the house was ever tenanted by Anne
Hathaway's parents, or that Anne herself was at
Shottery at all. All that is certain is that the
picturesque, half-timbered, and thatched dwelling to
which so many pilgrims yearly journey was, about
Shakespeare's time, tenanted by one Richard Hathaway,
who was the head of one of the three families of the
same surname resident in the district. On his death
his property was divided, and in bequeathing certain

238

Anne Hathaway's House

sums of money to his children he mentioned three
daughters by name, of whom an Agnes was one. This
name was at that period often the equivalent of Anne.
In his will one Thomas Whittington, a shepherd of
Stratford, is mentioned as a creditor, and later on in
Whittington's will appears a bequest to the poor of the
town of Stratford of eleven shillings lying " in the hand
of Anne Shaxpere, wyfe unto Mr. Wyllyam Shaxpere,
and is due debt unto me." The witnesses of the poet's
marriage bond also appear in Richard Hathaway's will,
one as witness and the other as supervisor. These
facts, although, it must be admitted, by no means
proving that Anne Hathaway was the daughter of the
occupier of the cottage, formerly a considerable farm-
house, are certainly evidence of some weight in favour
of the tradition. The property was acquired by the
trustees of the birthplace in 1892, and this fact has, of
course, conferred a certain imprimatur of authenticity
upon the building.

Much more of interest might be written of this
fascinating town which, although the resort of so many
thousands from all parts of the world almost the year
through, yet seems without effort to preserve an
atmosphere even in these modern times not altogether
out of keeping with the bygone age in which its most
famous son lived. To whatever cause, whether com-
mercial or otherwise, this lingering savour of romance
and of past times is due, those who value antiquities,
and who revel in memorials of the days gone by, may
be unfeignedly grateful.

239

CHAPTER XII

A GROUP OF SHAKESPEARE'S VILLAGES

AROUND Stratford lie grouped quite a number of
villages which Shakespeare undoubtedly knew and
visited, and possibly described in one or other of his
plays and poems. Great as is the attraction of Stratford
itself to many, there will be also pleasurable interests
found in the old-world villages which lie within easy
distance. In them and about them, indeed, there still
lingers much of the " atmosphere " of Shakespearian
times, and in travelling to them along winding roads
and leafy by-ways one breathes the wider air of the
Feldon and Arden, and from the summits of their
little hills can catch glimpses of the district which
Speed, not altogether unwarrantably, referred to as
another Eden. In the fields still toil peasants little
differing, in the more retired spots, in mode of life from
those who toiled in Shakespeare's days, gathering the
harvest of peas in autumn, or sowing them in spring.
Some, of course, who garner the peas are merely birds
of passage, wayside toilers, here to-day and gone to-
morrow ; but many others are natives of the place or

240

Aston Cantlow

neighbourhood in which they dwell, speaking with much
the same voices and phraseology as the peasants of
Shakespeare's time.

Through sweet Warwickshire lanes and by-paths
one may reach many a retired village well worth seeing,
and wander, as Shakespeare wandered, into places
which he undoubtedly knew. In spring and summer
few counties can show a richer wealth of wayside
flowers, or a greater glory of leaf and bud ; and the
autumn is not less lovely. If only for the beauty of
the lanes and the by-ways many will feel rewarded in
making a pilgrimage to some of the spots which we
shall briefly describe.

Some six miles north-west of Stratford, close to the
banks of the picturesque little River Alne, lies Aston
Cantlow, anciently known as Estone Cantilupe. The
first portion of the old name having probably a refer-
ence to its position as regards Alcester, from which
it is distant five miles ; and the latter part being
derived from William de Cantelu, or Cantilupe, a man
of considerable power and influence in the reign of
King John, from whom he obtained a charter for the
holding of a market and a yearly fair.

The family of Cantilupe appears to have possessed
the manor for rather more than half a century, from
1205 to 1272.

The village is a very pretty one, and has additional
interest in its fine church, dating principally from the
end of the thirteenth century. Originally the family
of Cantilupe erected or possessed a castle here, some

241 31

Warwickshire

traces of the earthworks of which are still to be seen
close to the River Alne, on the north side of the
church. The ancient moat is quite clearly traceable,
and this at flood-tide is filled by the overflow of the
river.

There is a fine half-timbered house in the village
(now, alas ! split up into small tenements), which was
formerly the hall of the " Guild of the Blessed Virgin."
The church itself consists of chancel, nave, north aisle
and chapel, and a south porch, and it has at the western
end an embattled tower with pinnacles. The roof,
which is probably the original one, is cradle pattern,
with the rafters trussed with curved braces. There
is a somewhat elementary but very interesting stone
carving over the north door of the nave, depicting the
Virgin Mary in bed with the infant Christ, whilst St.
Joseph stands at the foot. The date of this work it is
difficult to fix absolutely, but it seems probable that
it dates from the beginning of the fourteenth century.
The western end of the north aisle contains an un-
common newel staircase, originally intended to serve
as a means of communication between the church and
some upper parvise or chamber ; but this apartment
can never have been completed, as the stairs lead no-
where. In the chancel are an interesting triple sedilia,
a piscina, and a credence table, all connected together
by means of a moulding, which terminates in two
carved heads. The church also contains a fifteenth
century octagonal font, placed on a short shaft, each
face of which is ornamented by a sunk panel em-

242

Aston Cantlow Church

bellished with a quatrefoil placed in a circle, and
having a rose in the centre. At the east end of the
church is the chantry chapel of the " Guild of the
Blessed Virgin," in which are two old-fashioned open
pews, noticeable for the carved poppy heads which
adorn the elbows.

In the chapel are also an ancient prie-Dieu, and two
old wooden candelabra, each having five receptacles,
and pedestals of carved foliated work. It is probable
that these formerly did service as " elevation " candle-
sticks, and were placed on the lower steps of the altar,
to be lighted at high festivals and during the elevation
of the Host.

Most of the woodwork of the church dates from
the fifteenth century, and is well worth examination.
To the Shakespearian students the building, of course,
has an added interest from the fact that it seems very
probable that it was here John, Shakespeare's father, was
married to Mary Arden in 1557. Of the eight villages
referred to in the rhyme traditionally ascribed (but
apparently without foundation) to Shakespeare, which
runs as follows —

Piping Pebworth, Dancing Marston,
Haunted Hillborough, Hungry Grafton,
Dodging Exhall, Papist Wixford,
Beggarly Broom, and Drunken Bidford —

two, Pebworth and Dancing Marston, are over the
borders in Gloucestershire, and scarcely call for detailed
mention here.

Temple Grafton, the "Hungry" Grafton of the

243

Warwickshire

rhyme, lies about five miles south of Aston Cantlow.
The village which is prettily situated on elevated ground
was, in the reign of Henry I., bestowed by Henry
de Grafton on the Knights Hospitallers, who afterwards
gave a portion of it to Simon de Arden. It bore the
name of Grafton until the reign of Henry VIIL, and
it is supposed that the word Grafton is derived from
the Anglo-Saxon graef, a moat or ditch, the word
" Hungry " being an epithet given it by reason of the
poverty of the soil.

Billesley, a little village lying nearly midway between
Stratford and Alcester, is the third competitor for
notoriety as the place where the poet was married.
The evidence in favour of Billesley is entirely tradi-
tional, and may be dismissed, but there is one interesting
fact in connection with the place, i.e. that in 1639
Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hall (Shake-
speare's son-in-law and daughter), was married to Mr.,
afterwards Sir John, Barnard.

The manor-house at Billesley, comprising the
south wing of the original Elizabethan building, con-
tains a room, the oak panelling of which is said to have
been brought from New Place. This chamber, which
is known as Shakespeare's Room, is traditionally
supposed to have been occupied by the poet on the
occasion of his visits to the house.

Hillborough lies close to the river, some four miles
from Stratford, down a by-road running almost due
south from the main road. It is the " Haunted "
Hillborough of the rhyme, although the origin of the

244

u

Shakespeare's Crab Tree

ghostly prefix is lost in obscurity. It is a picturesque
stone-gabled building, beautifully trellised with ivy,
which has lost one of its original wings. Apparently
the house dates from Tudor times, but bears traces of
several later additions and alterations. The interior
contains an interesting survival in the shape of ascham
or locker for bows and arrows in the corner of one of
the oak-panelled rooms.

Hillborough seems chiefly noted nowadays for its
profusion of fruit, the trees in the garden bearing such
heavy crops as to necessitate their being propped in
order to sustain them ; whilst peaches and even grapes
ripen and come to maturity on the sunny south walls
as they do in few places in the county.

Travelling westward, about three-quarters of a mile
outside Bidford one comes to a small red-brick barn
in a field on the right-hand side of the roadway.
About fifty yards farther, on the opposite side,
near '->y an iron gate, stands a young crab-apple tree,
which, tradition asserts, sprang from the ancient one
known as " Shakespeare's Crab Tree," under which the
poet is reputed to have slumbered off the effects of a
drinking bout in which he had taken part at Bidford.
The old tree, however, stood farther in the field. It
long ago disappeared, and it is even doubtful, alas !
whether the young tree is, after all, related in any way
to it.

From this point there is a magnificent view of the
Worcestershire hills, and also Ragley Hall, set deeply
amid the surrounding woods. Bidford, one of the

245

Warwickshire

most picturesque and charming old-world villages in
Warwickshire, is now speedily reached along the
descending road. There is little doubt that this village,
noticeable for its picturesque and old tiled houses —
many of them creeper-grown and quaintly irregular as
regards their architecture — is a place of great antiquity,
as it is situated at the point where the ancient Icknield
Street crosses the River Avon.

Although but a small village nowadays formerly it
was a market town, the lordship of which was anciently
given by King John to Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, on
the marriage of the latter to his daughter Joan. The
market was granted by Henry III. in 1220, and was
still existent in the reign of Elizabeth.

Bidford seems to have derived its somewhat un-
pleasant appellation of " drunken " from the traditional
tale which was published in the Gentleman's Magazine
in December 1794 ; wherein it was said that formerly
the village contained an Association or Club of Topers,
who took pride in the quantity of ale they could
swallow without falling under the table. These persons,
tradition states, were in the habit of challenging the
residents in neighbouring places to a contest of en-
durance, and those of Stratford-on-Avon were on one
occasion so invited to a trial of strength.

The story further states that Shakespeare was one
of the party who came over from Stratford, and with
the rest of his companions was speedily conquered and
had to leave the scene of action. It was whilst on the
road home after the contest that Shakespeare and his

246

Bidford

fellow-townsmen are stated to have laid themselves
down in a drunken state under the crab-apple tree.

However true or otherwise the story may be,
certain it is that Bidford in ancient times possessed
a somewhat unenviable notoriety for festivity and
drunkenness.

In the reign of Edward I. the lordship of Bidford
was purchased by Robert Burnell, who, in addition to
being Lord Treasurer and Lord Chancellor of England,
was also Bishop of Bath and Wells. It was he who
built the castle of Acton Burnell, Shropshire, at which
the first Parliament was held. In the reign of Henry
VII. Bidford was the property of Lord Lovell, which
on his attainder escheated to the Crown, Henry VIII.
subsequently granting it to Gerard Danet.

Nowadays Bidford is chiefly distinguished as a
resort of Shakespearian pilgrims and excursionists. Its
chief attractions are a fine and picturesque old bridge
spanning the Avon, built at the end of the fifteenth
century by the monks of Alcester to replace the existing
ford.

The Church of St. Laurence, which is built on a
slight knoll overlooking the river almost at the Stratford
end of the village, possesses a tower of a most unusual
type, the date of which it is very difficult to fix. The
church consists of a chancel, nave, and aisles ; the first
named is Early English, but the nave and aisles were
rebuilt in 1835 in a very unfortunate and common-
place style. The windows of the chancel are filled by
rather good stained glass, some of it by Capronnier of

247

Warwickshire

Brussels. Whatever failings the restored building may
have, the church plate is of undoubted interest. Prob-
ably of Spanish workmanship, it is of silver gilt
repousse work, and was presented by the Duchess of
Dudley in 1665. The church chest, probably dating
from the sixteenth century, is of an unusual kind,
possessing heavy bands and hinges with three locks,
and in the middle of each end a ring, such as is fre-
quently found in old sea-chests.

Quite close to the church is an interesting old
Elizabethan house, known as the Falcon Inn, built
of stone, the gabled front containing three stories, and
the principal windows mullioned. Formerly there was
a picturesque projecting gallery, which was done away
with many years ago. It was at this same inn that
tradition states two fraternities known as the " Topers "
and " Sippers " used to meet, and here it is alleged
Shakespeare was frequently found carousing with his
companions. Unfortunately the building is now
divided up into tenements. It was from here that the
inn sign and chair — now located in the birthplace —
came.

Wixford Church is small and picturesque, and of
mixed architecture. One of the most pleasing portions
of the building is the chantry chapel of the fifteenth
century, which possesses a very fine Tudor arched
window of five lights on the east, and three good
windows of the same kind on the south. In this beauti-
ful chapel is a remarkably large and handsome tomb of
Thomas de Cruwe and his wife Juliana, who died at the

248

Wixford Church

commencement of the fifteenth century. The figures
are of finely engraved brass under crocketed pedimental
canopies, enclosed and divided by slender buttresses.
Thomas de Cruwe is attired in armour, and his wife
wears a coif with a veil depending to the shoulders, a
close-fitting gown bound in with a cord at the waist,
and a long mantle open in front. Above the canopies
are fixed shields of arms, and the badge of a human foot
is seen both above and below the figures.

This Thomas de Cruwe was attorney to Margaret
de Beauchamp, and steward to Richard de Beauchamp.

The step to the chantry altar still remains, and on the
south side of it is an extremely interesting piscina, with
a semi-octagon canopy within a ogee double-pointed
arch. There are also several early brasses in the church
of considerable interest.

In the churchyard itself is the base of a fine old
fourteenth-century cross, with three steps ; the centre-
piece was found buried at the foot some years ago,
and has a representation of the crucifixion on one side,
and the Virgin and Child on the other.

North-west some eight miles from Stratford is the
small market town of Henley-in-Arden, less retired
and quiet, unhappily, nowadays than a few years ago.
Anciently one of the towns situated in the great
Forest of Arden, it still possesses a market cross, dating
from the fifteenth century. And although the church,
unlike many churches of Warwickshire villages, does
not possess any features of special interest, within a
quarter of a mile from the town lies Beaudesert, well

249 32

Warwickshire

worth a visit. The first thing which will strike the
traveller on approaching the spot are the earthworks,
now known as the " Mound," where, in the twelfth
century, Thurstan de Montfort erected a castle which
was destroyed during the Wars of the Roses. From
the Mound is obtained one of the finest views in
Warwickshire, ranging from Edge Hill on the one hand
to the Cotswolds on the other, with the charming
picture of Henley itself in the near foreground. The
earthworks are divided into three parts by two cross
ditches ; the portion farthest away from the village
with the steepest sides was most probably the site of
the keep.

The little Church of Beaudesert, probably built by
De Montfort, and originally the Castle Church, lies at
the foot of the earthworks. Although the church has
been considerably restored it still contains much
Norman work ; particularly is this noticeable in the
eastern window, which is ornamented with zigzag, star
and indented mouldings. The chancel arch is also a
fine specimen of Norman work, recessed and ornamented
with wave and tooth mouldings. The tower dates only
from the fifteenth century, but the walls and nave of
the chancel are Norman, with some fourteenth-century
windows inserted. There is an interesting holy water
stoup on the east side of the south door, of about the
same period as the doorway itself; and in the north
wall are two small splayed Norman windows, the wall
itself being of the thickness of five feet.

In the whole of Warwickshire there is scarcely more

250

Clopton House

beautiful scenery to be found than in the immediate
neighbourhood of Henley-in-Arden. Here are still
some few scattered remnants left of the great forest
which once covered the district so thickly, but which
was gradually cut down to meet the necessities of the
iron furnaces of Aston, Birmingham, and other places.
Indeed, the destruction of the Forest of Arden may be
considered as having been brought about almost entirely
by the means we have indicated. Here, too, may be
found, often hidden away in by-lanes, picturesque sur-
vivals of the thatched and half-timbered cottages, which
are, alas ! now disappearing one by one to make room
for modern erections, the ugliness of whose architecture
is too often a blot on their surroundings.

Only about a mile and a half from Stratford itself is
Clopton House, once the manor-house of the Clopton
family, whose name is so closely identified with Strat-
ford, and to whom the manor was granted in the
thirteenth century. Most of the present house was
built in the latter part of the fifteenth century, in the
reign of Henry VII. ; but it has been much altered at
various periods, chiefly when the south and eastern
portions were reconstructed by Sir Edward Walker
about 1665, in the reign of Charles II. The house has
also been restored in recent times. There is a good
Jacobean oak staircase, and in the bay-window of
the dining-room are the shields of several of the
Cloptons.

In the attic story is a room used by the Roman
Catholics as a chapel in the times succeeding the Refor-

251

Warwickshire

mation, when such worship was a penal offence. On
the walls are still decipherable Scriptural texts in black
letter. A licence was granted by Pope Sixtus IV. to
John Clopton and his heirs at the end of the fourteenth
century, to enable therri to have Mass said in this private
chapel, opposite which is the Priests' Chamber.

The house has additional historical interest as the
residence, in 1605, of Ambrose Rokewood, one of the
chief conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, and from the
fact that it was here Catesby, Winter, the Wrights, and
others used to assemble. After the failure of the plot
Clopton was raided by the bailiff of Stratford, and
amongst other things, consisting of papers, etc., was
seized a bag containing "copes, vestments, crosses,
crucifixes, chalices, and other massing reliques," belong-
ing to the then tenant, a full inventory of which is
deposited in the Museum at Stratford.

In the grounds are several small ponds, and beyond
them a spring, now arched over, where Margaret Clopton
is stated to have drowned herself in 1588, as a result of
a love affair. It is supposed that this incident suggested
to Shakespeare's mind the death of Ophelia, and there
seems some considerable probability that the second
scene of the introduction of "The Taming of the
Shrew " is represented as taking place at Clopton
House.

About four miles from Stratford, along the Kineton
Road, lies Charlecote, in a picturesque park prettily
situated close to the junction of the Wellesbourne
brook with the Avon. It was here, of course, that the

252

Charlecote

somewhat apocryphal deer-stealing exploits of Shake-
speare are said to have taken place. Whether there is
any foundation in fact or not for the tradition, it seems
certain that there was some considerable amount of
friction at one time existing between the then owner,
Sir Thomas Lucy, and the poet. But whether, as has
been suggested by some, this circumstance had its rise
in a difference of religion, or from some other cause, it
has never been possible to determine. It is supposed by
some that at the actual time the deer-stealing is stated
to have taken place there were none at Charlecote,
although there were in the parks of Fulbroke, which
also belonged to the Lucys, and it may even be that it
was at the latter place and not the former that the
poaching took place, if at all. Whatever truth there
may be in the story there seems little doubt that the
poet satirised Sir Thomas Lucy in " The Merry Wives
of Windsor " under the guise of " Mr. Justice
Shallow."

The village of Charlecote was granted to Walter de
Charlecote by Henry de Montfort in the reign of
Richard I. In the year 1216 William de Charlecote,
son of the original owner, assumed the name of Lucy,
by which the family has ever since been known. The
present house, which was erected by Sir Thomas Lucy
in 1558, probably occupies much the same site as that
of the older mansion. With the exception of the
dining-room and library, which were added in 1833,
Charlecote remains to-day practically as it was in the
Elizabethan age. It is approached from the road

253

Warwickshire

through an ancient gate-house, one of the most beautiful
and well-preserved specimens of Elizabethan architec-
ture still extant, the upper story of which is supposed
to have anciently been used as a banqueting-room.

The house itself is also of red brick with stone
dressings, and in the ground plan is very much of the
shape of the letter E. The mansion, which is in a
beautiful state of preservation throughout, contains the
great Hall, a very handsome chamber with a fine bay
window, in which are the family arms blazoned in the
upper part, and a large number of family portraits by
noted artists of different periods, including, amongst
others, some fine examples of the work of Cornelis
Janssens, Dahl Kneller, De Manara, and Lely. The
dining-room, which has a fine panelled plaster ceiling
of Elizabethan design, also contains some admirable
pictures, and from its windows are charming views of
the Avon and the Wellesbourne Brook, and the famous
and stately avenue of lime trees.

Charlecote has witnessed several historic scenes, the
chief of which are the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Sir
Thomas Lucy when on her way from Warwick to
Compton Wynyates, August 24, 1572, and the presence
in the park of the Scottish Army on its way northward
from Hereford on September 9, 1745. Just two
hundred years before which date John Fox, the noted
martyrologist, came as a guest to Charlecote and
remained there for some considerable period. In this
house one has an almost unique example of the higher
type of purely domestic architecture of the Elizabethan

254

Charlecote

age, preserved with a success which makes it possible
for those who visit it to realise in a measure the needs
and ambitions of those spacious days when Elizabeth
honoured so many of her noble or distinguished
subjects with visits.

255

Index

^thelflaed, 9, 1 1, 44, 104

^Ethelred, n, 44

Alfred the Great and Warwickshire, 1 1

Ancient manor-houses, 174-201

Aragoti, Catherine of, 98

Arden, Mary (Shakespeare's mother),

212

" Arden, The Black Dog of," 7 1

Forest of, 6, 203, 251
Armada, Warwickshire and the, 25
Asbies, 212, 214-15
Aston Cantlow, 212, 242
Augustinians, the, in Warwickshire, 1 8,
127

Bacon, Francis, 213
Baddesley Clinton, 174-9

Hall, illust., p. 128, 179
Barnet, battle of, 97
Barons' War, 16-17
Baskerville, John, printer, 167
Beacons, 199-200
Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick, illust.,

P-J7
Beauchamp, Guy de, 71

Richard, 60, 63, 68 ; tomb, 63
Thomas, the first Earl of Warwick,

60
Thomas, the second Earl of Warwick,

effigies of, 59
Berington, Joseph, 167
Bermingham, De, 156
Bidford, 245-7

Bridge, illust., p. 22 /
Billesley, 244

Birmingham, 38-40, 154-71
ancient buildings, 168

Birmingham benefactors, 171

Boulton, Matthew, 165

Burne-Jones, Sir E., 169

Churches — St. John's, Deritend, 169 ;
St. Martin's, 157-8, 168

cotton-spinning machinery introduced,
165

early fame for metal work, 159-60

Free Grammar School of King
Edward VI., 158

Leather Market, 160

Leland's description (1538), 158-9

"Lunar Club " or " Soho Circle," 166

in mediaeval times, 158

modern, 171

name, origin of, 154

population at various periods, 163

Public Buildings, 171

Roman Catholicism, 170

sack and burning of, 36

situation, 157

Soho Works, famous, 165-7

streets, first paved, 16 1

trade in I7th, i8th, and igth
centuries, 164-8

the Plague, 163

Watt, James, 165
Black Canons, 127
Bolingbroke, Henry, at Gosford Green,

95

Bonaparte, Napoleon, portrait of, 69
Boughton, Richard, 23
Boulton, Matthew, and the "Soho"

Works, 165
Brooke, Lord, 30
Browning, Mrs., and Warwickshire

scenery, 2

256

Index

Burne- Jones, Sir E., and Birmingham,

169
Burton Dassett, 31-2, 35, 199

at time of Civil War, 31

Beacon, 199

Church, 35, 199-201
Butler's Marston, 32

Camden's description of Warwickshire,

.'59

Cantilupe, family of, 242
Canute ravages Warwickshire, 1 2
Castle, Brandon, and the " Barons'

War," 1 6
Catesby, Robert, and the " Gunpowder

Plot," 26

Charlecote, 21, illust., p. 2JJ
Charles I., 29

at Edge Hill, 32
Charles II., 103

Chineworth or Kenilworth, 129
Civil War, 102

War in 1642, 64
Clopton family, 235

Sir Hugh, 202, 208, 219
Compton family, the, 190
Compton Wynyates, 189-201
Coombe Abbey, 18, 97
Corn Laws, repeal of the, and Birming-
ham, 40

Cornavii in Warwickshire, 4
Cornelias Bungey, martyr, 25
Cotton-spinning, 165
Coughton Court, 27, illust., p. 16
Coventry, 21, 36, 38, 89

architecture, mediaeval, 104

Bablake Hospital, 119

Bablake School, 119

Charter of Henry III., 94

Churches — Benedictine Monastery,
105 5 Grey Friars, 104 ; Holy
Trinity, 109 ; St. Michael's, 95,
105, 108

constitution of Municipal Corporation,

94

county of, 96
Fair, 94

Feast of St. George, 97
festivals, 99
foundation, 89
Godiva, legend of Lady, 90
Guilds, Religious and Trade, 99

Coventry, " Hock Tuesday," 99

in Domesday Book, 93

letters from Royal personages, 118

Mary Queen of Scots at, 101, 118

monasteries, 94, 98

''Mysteries," 143

origin of name, 89

pageants, 98

Peeping Tom, 92

population in Domesday Book, 94 ;
in 1510, 98

portraits of Royal personages, 117, 119

Priory, 96

Queen Elizabeth's visit, 99

statues of Royal personages, 114, 115

the Civil War, 102

the stocks, 113

visit of Henry VI., 115

walls and gates, 94
Cromwell, Oliver, and Civil War, 33,

35

Cropredy and Civil War, 31-2
Cucking stool, 60
Cumnor Place and Amy Robsart, 135

Danish invaders, 10, 44

nomenclature, 1 1

settlement, 1 1

Darwin, Dr., and Birmingham, 167
Dickens at Leamington, 153
" Dombey and Son " and Leamington,

'53

Domesday Book, 15, 93, 146, 157, 203
Drayton, Michael, 2
Dubritius, St., 44, 68, 70
Dudley, Ambrose, 63

John, 24

Robert, 64, 130, 138
Dugdale the historian and Warwickshire,

3°, 155
Dunchurch, illu«t., p. 2J, 27

Earthquake (1085), 18

Edge Hill, 30, 34

Edward III. and Coventry, 94

Edward the Confessor, 15

"Eliot, George," 8, 187

Elizabeth, Queen, 54, 99, 1 18, 216

Elizabeth's, Queen, visit to Kenilworth,

131-4

Essex, Lord, 30
Evans, Mary Ann, 187

257

33

Warwickshire

"Everyman," the "mystery" play, 99
Exhall, 96, 244

Fawkes, Guido, family history of, 27
Ferrers, family of, 175
Fisher family, the, 180

Sir Robert, 31
Fosse-way, 5

George IV. at Leamington, 150

Glover, Robert, martyr, 25

Godiva, Lady, 92, 107, 119

Gosford Green, execution of Earl Rivers

on, 97

Great Frost, 213

Greatheed, Bertie, and Guy's Cliffe. 68
Greville, Sir Fulke, and Warwick Castle,

60, 73-4
Robert, 30
Grey Friars, 94
Grey, Lady Jane, 24
Gunpowder Plot, Warwickshire and the,

26
Guy's Cliffe, 67, illust., p. 64

Hampden, John, at battle of Edge Hill,

34

Harold and Warwickshire, 13
Hathaway, Anne, 217 ; cottage of, 240 ;

house of, 239
Hathaway 's House, 224
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, at Leamington,

145

Henley-in-Arden, 249, 251, illust., p. 4
Henry IV. and Coventry, 95
"Henry VI.," 19, 95-6, 115
Henry VII., 98, 117
Henry VIII., 98

and the Duke of Buckingham, 191,

»93

Hillborough, 244-5
"Hock Tuesday," 99, 133
" Hungry " Grafton, illust., p. 208
Hwicci, 4

Icknield Street, 246
Way, 5, 6

James I., 74

and Coventry, 102

at Compton Wynyates, 196

James II. at Coventry, 103

Kemble, Sarah, at Guy's Cliffe, 69
Kenilworth, 31, 118, 125-43

Castle — best approach, 136; in Dud-
ley's time, 1315 Queen Elizabeth
visits, 131

Church, 126

in Domesday Book, 129

name, origin of, 128

Priory, 127

situation, 125

Kineton and the Civil War, 32
" King Maker," the, 21-2
Kingsbury and the Mercian Kings, 9
Knights Templars, 22, 55

Lancaster, Henry of, and Coventry, 21
Landor, Walter Savage, and Warwick,

5.8
Leamington, 144-53

and Abbotts, Dr., 149

in Domesday Book, 146

George IV., visit of, 150

hunting at, 151

name, origin of, 146

Nathaniel Hawthorne on, 145

Parade, illust., p. 112

population of, 145

Public Gardens, 152

Ruskin, John, on, 151

Satchwell, Benj., poet, 149

situation of, 144

Spa, 148

Victoria, Princess at, 151
Leicester, Earl of, 16-17, 64
Leicester's Hospital, Warwick, illust.,

P- 48

Lewis, Mrs. Joyce, martyr, 25
Lindsey, Earl of, strange prayer of, 33
Little Wolford, 201

Manor-House, illust., p. 160
Long Itchington, 30
Long Marston, 37
Lord Compton, illust., p. i6t)
Lucy, Sir Henry, death of, at battle of

Northampton, 21

Macready on Leamington, 150
Margaret, Queen, at Coventry, 115
Mary Queen of Scots at Coventry, 101,

118-19

Maxstoke, Castle of, 181-7
Priory of, 18, 181

258

Index

Mediaeval architecture, 104, 181

Merevale Abbey, 18

Monasteries, 19

Monastic institutions, 98

Montfort, Henry de, and Barons' War,

17

Simon de, and Barons' War, 16
Mowbray, Thomas de, 95
Murdock, William, inventor of gas

lighting, 167

"Mysteries" or sacred plays, 99
Mytton's Jack, exploits at Leamington,

'S3

Nash family and Shakespeare, 224

Neville, Richard, 21

Newburg, Henry de, and Warwick

Castle, 45
Newburgh, John de, 45

Oken, Thomas, 59

Packington Hall, 179-80

Old Hall, 31, 37
Parliamentarians, 32, 64
" Parliamentum Diabolicum," 96
Parr, William, 60
" Peeping Tom," illust., p. 73, 92
Picts and Scots, 8, 4.4
Plague, the, 101, 163, 213
Plessetis, John de, 46
Prayer, Earl of Lindsey's, 33
Priestley, Dr., 167

Quaint customs of Warwick, 66

Reform Bill, 39

Religious orders, 18-19, 94

Richard II., Play of, 95, 98

Rivers, Earl, execution of, 97

Robsart, Amy, 73, 126

Roman Catholicreligion and Shakespeare

family, 215
Roman occupation, 4

remains, 7

Roses, the Wars of the, 21
Rous, John, historian, 68, 90
Royalists, 31

Rugby School, illust., p. 240
Rupert, Prince, 30, 33, 34, 36
Ruskin, John, and Leamington, 151

Salford Priors, illust., p. 0

Satchwell, Benjamin, Leamington's poet,

H9

Saxon nomenclature, 13
Saxon occupation, 14

remains, 14

Scott, Gilbert G., R.A., in
Scott, Sir Walter, 126, 128, 135
Seckington, 9

Secret hiding places, 176, 197
Shakespeare, John, 211, 212, 214
Shakespeare, William, 26, 120

arms and motto of, 216

birth of, 26, 212

birthday of, 211

birthplace of, 211, 219-26, illust., p.

*S5

bust of, 222, 233

character pictures, 238-9

death of, 219

early life of, 216

family of, 211-14, 217-18

memorial buildings, 237

portraits of, 222, 224, 238

relics of, 223

wedding, 217

"Shovel Board," game of, 193
Siddons, Mrs., 69
Snitterfield, 211, 212, 214
Soho Works, Birmingham, 165
Southam, 31, illust., p. J2
St. John, Knights of, 55
Stocks at Coventry, 113
Stoke, 96

Stoneleigh Abbey, 18, illust., p. roy
Stratforrl-on-Avon, 202-40, illust., p.
20 r

almshouses, 231

ancient architecture at, 210, 226, 229,
23!

benefactors of, 206

bridges, 208

Celtic remains at, 203

Clopton, Sir Hugh, and, 208

fires at, 210

first record of existence, 203

Grammar School, 231

Guild Hall, 229

Guild of the Holy Cross, 207, 227

Hathaway's house, 224

Holy Trinity, Church of the, 204, 231

incorporation of, 209

259

Warwickshire

Stratford-on-Avon in Elizabethan times,

209

Market Cross, 223
markets and fairs, 205-6
Shakespeare's birthplace at, 219-26
Shakespeare's Museum, 223
Shakespeare's property, 218, 221, 223

Tamworth, 9

Tangye family and Birmingham, 181
Tewkesbury, battle of, 97
Thornton, John, glass maker, 115
Tudor Rose, crest of, at Compton

Wynyates, 191, 196
Turchill, Earl of Warwick, 45
Tysoe villages, 32

War of the Barons, 16-17
Warbeck, Perkin, 23
Warwick, 37, 38, 43

ancient buildings and relics, 48

Churches, etc. — Beauchamp Chapel,
57, 62 5 John the Baptist, 56 ; St.
Helen, 56 ; St. James, 48 5 St. John's
Hospital, 55 ; St. Lawrence, 56 ; St.
Mary, 56, 59, 66 ; St. Michael,
56 ; St. Nicholas, 56, 66 ; St. Peter,
56 ; St. Sepulchre Priory, 53, 56

cucking stool, 62

Danish invasion of, 44

early names of, 43, 44

fair established I3th century, 46

fire (1694), 57

Guild ot St. George, 49

history and romance of, 43-69

municipal history of, 47

origin of, 43

Picts and Scots and, 44

Priory, 18

Warwick ramparts, 67

size at Norman conquest, 44
Warwick Castle, 67, 70-88, illust., p. 41

art treasures of, 79

besieged by Royalists, 74

Caesar's Tower, 72

" Guy's Porridge Pot," 78

James I. entertained at, 74

origin, 70

pictures in> 79, 82-3

property of Crown, 73

Queen Elizabeth entertained at, 73

Royalty entertained at, 74

Shakespeare relics at, 85

" Vase," 86

Warwick, "the King Maker," 21-2
Warwickshire monasteries, 19

and the Civil War, 36

and the Danish occupation, 1 1

and the Saxon occupation, 14

compared with Derbyshire, I

historical associations of, 4

in the Domesday Book, 15, 93, 146,

'57, 2°3

in Roman times, 5

in Saxon times, 8

origin of name, 4

scenery, 2, 251

Shakespeare's allusions to, 3

villages, 241-54
Watling Street, 5, 6
Watt, James, and Birmingham, 165
Wedmore, Treaty of, n
Whipping Post at Coventry, 113
White Friars, 94

Withering, Dr., and Birmingham, 167
Wixford, 243, 248
Wormleighton, 32

House, 31

THE END

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